The Hands of God 2: Ascension
by Xardion
Summary: Sequel to the Hands of God fanfic. The dramatic conclusion! Epilonge, Thanks, Extra and Preview! Please R
1. Intro

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Armored Core series. I just happen to be an avid fan of the game and wish that AC really did exist.

_AN: This is just here to remind me. It may be a long while before I can actually work on it. But this may get your interest nevertheless._

Introduction...

Several years have passed since the opening of the gate leading to the surface. Humanity was once again able to step on its home soil to renew their lives once again. After living in the darkness of the underworld for so long, they are now up into the light.

_But the battles continued..._

As humankind returned to the surface, so did the corporations that reigned over them. Their battles continued and their wars were waged on the surface. Power was taken and grown along with their ambitions. But the corporations weren't the only things that came up to the surface. There was another faction as well.

_The Ravens..._

As corporations fought, Ravens were summoned to fight. With their battles now taking place on the surface, these mercenaries became as valuable as before, working for whomever they choose for whatever missions. Many fought for money and power. Some fought for the thrill of battle or personal vendettas. Few fought for honor and understanding. But whatever the reason, Ravens were once again a force to be reckoned with.

_This is a story of a few of these mecha-piloting warriors..._

*********

_AC testing area_

Two machines stood within the enclosed area. One was colored in white and blue. It was mid-heavyweight in design, with its right arm equipped with arm missiles. Its left arm was equipped with a large energy blade, the famous Moonlight blade. On its back were extra boosters, capable of giving it increased speed. Its shoulders were also equipped with directional booster, which give it quick turns. The second one was a red and black. It was equipped with a machine gun on it right arm and a howitzer on it right. The legs were high-speed hover legs. On it back were a set of powerful vertical missile warheads. The two machines seemed to be glaring down at each other.

"Alright, Chaos. You ready?"

"Sure thing. Let's go."

Chaos suddenly zoomed off to the side and began firing round of bullets at the white AC. The white AC flew out and away from the fire, but made no move to attack itself. Chaos continued the fire, but his bullets weren't doing much.

"Come on. You have to use your locks better than that."

The pilot inside Chaos growled and sped toward the white AC this time, still shooting off rounds. The white AC continued to fly away, but a sheer of energy was growing on its back. Chaos recognized it immediately.

_'He's going for overboost.'_

The white AC shot toward him with lightning speed and Chaos turned his fire at him. A few shots hit him, but suddenly the AC flew up in the air, leaping right over Chaos. Chaos half-panicked and twisted around with more continual fire.

"Take your time." the pilot of the white AC commented.

Chaos didn't seem to listen as he fired a howitzer blast. The compact bomb exploded before the white AC and Chaos stood in front. _'Alright, I got him good.'_

But that proved to be a fatal mistake as the white AC suddenly flew out of the flames with its blade ignited. Chaos tried to veer away, but it was too late.

**_Shhhaaccccckkkkkk_****_!!!!_**

"Arghhh! Damn!"

The blue-white blade had slashed Chaos across the upper core, damaging the generator. Chaos shot back, but was in no condition to fight now. The white AC saw this as well and set his blade down.

"That's enough for today."

The pilot of Chaos sighed, "I guess so.

The white AC moved toward him, "Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it. It takes time."

"I don't think I'll be able to get it."

A grunt of disapproval was heard, "Not if you have that kind of attitude. Come on, Elijah. Let's head back."

The two ACs strode out of the testing area. The red machine Chaos, with its pilot, Elijah. The other, the white AC, Glaive who was one of the Ravens that made up the powerful Armored Core team known only as...

_The Hands of God…_


	2. New Raven

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

Chap. 1

*******************

_Name- Elijah_

_Signature AC- Havoc_

_Alternate ACs- Chaos, Mayhem_

_Profile- A rookie Raven, Elijah has only been in the fold for a short time, but possesses great talent. His AC is designed for deadly long range combat, although he can use it in close range as well. Currently, he is the apprentice of Glaive and is being trained to be a skilled Raven._

_Name- Cain_

_Signature AC- Glaive 2_

_Alternate ACs- Fenrir, Uniblast_

_Profile- An experienced Raven who excels in blade to blade battles.__ Formerly part of the Raven team, the Hands of God, he now spends his time training the young Raven, Elijah. He rarely goes out on missions and only fights in the Arena._

***************

Elijah had just entered into his personal docking bay to check up on his AC Chaos. After it was damaged in the training run, he decided to alter the machine altogether, removing the hover legs and arms and giving it tank legs and the insanely powerful dual grenade launchers. On its back were the equally powerful dual vertical missiles and the shoulders sported shielding. _'With this configuration, I will defeat you.'_ he thought as he looked at Cain's AC, Glaive II. It stood in the nearby dock like a proud knight standing watch. _'It's too bad its pilot isn't like that.'_ After being with Cain, he realized two things. One, his friend never cracked a smile. Two, he was always stiff, always seeming to work and never having any fun. _'He could at least relax a bit.'_

Elijah shrugged it off and cycled the ACs to his signature machine, Havoc. This one was shaded black with red and blue colored details. Two machine guns were in its grip and it held the high level extra ammo on its back. He could shoot down his opponent for hours.

He remembered when he first used this machine in the Arena. That was also the first day he met Cain...

_Flashback..._

_Arena.___

Havoc stepped out into the Arena, awaiting his first opponent. From what he heard, they were usually pushover type fighters. However, since he had never fought in the arena before, he was new to this experience. The pilot struggled to calm himself.

"No problem. Just beat the other guy and win. It's just like a mission."

"It's nothing like a mission."

The transmission came from his opponent. A white and blue AC.

"A battle between Ravens isn't just a way to gain credits. It's a way of learning about each other. And it's a way to improve your own skills, both as a Raven and as a human being."

"What do you mean?"

"Fight me and find out."

Havoc wasted no time in attacking. Raising his machine gun, he fired a salvo of bullets at Glaive. However, the white AC flew off to the side, the bullets missing him by inches. Havoc continued to fire around, following the white AC and trying to hit it. Glaive suddenly circled and flew at him. He flew backward, hoping to avoid the pursuing Raven. In his panic, he had forgotten that he stopped shooting. When he realized it, he pulled the trigger, but Glaive was too close. A blue-white blade of energy flashed forth and blazed down on him. Reacting, Havoc ignited his own orange blade and the two clashed. Due to Glaive's power, Havoc was struggling against him. But the Raven wasn't finished yet and raised his machine gun to fire at close range. Glaive saw this and quickly dodged off to the right. Havoc was stunned as Glaive came once again and sliced off the machine gun arm. Havoc backed away damaged, but re-ignited his blade again. Glaive however, didn't move and merely observed the AC.

"You have potential, but even you can see that you can't win this fight."

With that, Glaive began to turn and walk away. Havoc however, called out...

"Wait. I still do not understand. What did you mean earlier? About learning about others?"

"Do you really want to know? It takes time."

"I don't care. Hey, you can even train me if that's what it takes."

Glaive turned back toward him, "You sound serious enough. Okay. Come with me and I'll train you."

"Okay, deal Glaive."

"My name is Cain."

"I'm Elijah."

************

Elijah let out a small smile. Ever since that day and thanks to Cain's teachings, his skills in the AC had increased dramatically. However, his stoic teacher never actually joined him in any of his battles or missions. He always taught him in private. Most of all, he had only seen him use his ACs in a few arena battles. But never anything major. _Why was he like that? He's supposed to be the best blade Raven there was. He was already a rank A Raven, so what was the deal?  Why is it that he doesn't battle more often?_ Whenever he asked, Cain either would answer with a strange riddle that seemed to make no sense or not even answer at all.

_'Well, I won't give up.'_

Elijah walked off away from his machine and toward his teacher's quarters. As usual, Cain was busy on his computer, doing some sort of work. Elijah walked up from behind him.

"So, what'cha doing?"

"Work."

Elijah shrugged. That was the usual answer Cain gave him. But Elijah had no intention of giving up now.

"What kind of work?"

Cain didn't answer that question, forcing Elijah to move closer and look over his shoulder. The screen was covered with various AC information. Elijah became a little more interested and moved his head closer.

_His mistake..._

Cain suddenly latched his arm up and snapped up Elijah's neck, putting him in a chokehold.

"How many times do I have to say not to do that?"

Elijah struggled a bit more and finally gotten loose.

"Hey, if you weren't such a stiff, I wouldn't have to do that."

Cain stopped briefly, "So I'm a stiff now?"

"No. You're always a stiff." Elijah joked.

Cain however, seemed less than amused, "Perhaps."

Elijah let out another silent sigh, "Come on. Don't you do anything else besides work? Don't you go to parties or anything remotely fun?"

"No." was the short reply.

"Fine then. I'll...."

Beep, beep

It was Elijah comn unit. He looked at his wrist and checked it. "Looks like I got a mission to go to." He lowered his arm and began to walk out. "So I'll see you later."

"Assuming that you live through it."

Elijah rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Must you be so serious?"

"Someone has to be. Be careful out there."

Elijah nodded. He knew that deep down, really deep down, Cain cared.

"Sure. No problem."

Elijah left the room and strode toward his AC. Havoc will be perfect for this mission. He walked up the ramp and into the cockpit. Closing the hatch, he activated all systems and gripped the controls. The dark machine stood up and its eyes glowed venomously.

_'Havoc, let's go.'_


	3. Old Friends

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 2

Underground...

The elevator doors opened slowly as the AC Havoc stalked out. Elijah checked all his stats. _'Hmm. Generator at full power.__ Ammo primed and ready. Now let's go to work.'_

As Havoc walked out into the open, he could hear the communications from his targets.

"They brought in a Raven. Take it out!"

Elijah grinned. _'If they think they can beat me with those weak MT's, they must be either desperate or foolish.'_ He ignited the boosters, _'Either way, they made a big mistake.'_

_"Main system.__ Engaging combat mode."_

Firing its boosters, Havoc swarmed in as the MTs began firing at him. But their rockets weren't hitting Havoc at all as he raised his machine guns and opened fire. The loud sounds of machine gun fire echoed throughout the underground city as the bullets shredded the first two MTs instantly. The third one moved to the side in order to get a clear shot, but it was far too slow and the black AC focused its gaze on him.

"Don't worry. I didn't forget about you."

The hail of bullets tore through the air and into the MT, utterly destroying it. Havoc lowered its guns and continued to move through the complex. Elijah checked his radar in order to determine where the others were. Locating them, Havoc flew off to the left around the corner of one of the buildings. Right around it, an MT popped up in his face. Surprised, Havoc boosted back slightly, allowing the MT to get a shot in. The rocket hit Havoc in the left hand, damaging the machine gun. Growling inside, Elijah raised the other machine and wasted the MT. Once it was destroyed, he checked his weapon. It was too badly damaged to use now. _'Damn. And I liked this too.'_ With little choice, Havoc dropped the damaged weapon and continued on. As he did, Elijah berated, _'I let myself in too close and got surprised. I can just imagine what Cain would say if he were here.'_

He found another corner and turned to find another MT waiting for him. But he was ready for it and the MT's rocket fire missed him and exploded in the ruined building. Havoc responded with a round of fire which chewed up the MT and blew it up. Elijah checked his ammo. _'100 rounds left. No problem.'_ According to his data, there were three more left. Havoc flew through the deserted streets to find his final targets all together. Without a second breath, Havoc unleashed his fire. Living up to its name, the machine wreaked havoc upon the MTs as they exploded under the sheer fire. Havoc zoomed into the center and found that one was left. Raising the machine, Havoc fired, but only five bullets spewed out.

_'What? I'm out of ammo? How did that happen?'_

Elijah quickly returned his attention to the last MT as it fired on him. Havoc quickly dodged aside, but had no weapons to fire back with. Elijah couldn't believe that he was out of ammo, but remembered how machine gun ammo tends to exhaust easily. _'Come on. How can I get rid of this guy? Wait a minute?'_

_'Remember to use all of your AC's abilities.'_

Elijah grumbled. _'How can I? I only had those two guns and I can't use...wait a minute.'_

Elijah suddenly remembered that his core had an EO function. _'I can't believe I forgot about that.'_ Quickly, Elijah clicked a switch causing his AC to launch two little orbiters on its back. The orbiters immediately fired streams of energy beam, tearing the MT apart and destroying it.

_"All targets eliminated.__ Switching to normal mode."_

Elijah sighed within the machine. _'Piece of cake.'_

*************

_Next morning..._

Elijah stopped off at a bar. It was morning and he only gotten little sleep because of his mission. And since he didn't want to miss any of Cain's lessons, he decided to start early. Of course, he needed a small pick-me-up at the tavern. As he gulped down his drink, the bartender questioned, "A little young to be drinking, aren't ya?"

Elijah shrugged, "Yeah well, I started early in life."

The bartender glanced at him more thoroughly, "Hmm. You're a Raven, aren't you? I can see it in your eyes."

The young pilot took another gulp of his drink, "So what of it?"

"Yeah buddy. So what of it?"

The new response came from another man who had entered the tavern and stood beside Elijah. The man was dark-skinned, of medium height. His hair was a bit spiky on his head. The newcomer sat beside Elijah as he ordered his drink.

"So you're a Raven. You look a little young."

Elijah sulked a bit. He didn't like being disturbed while drinking and given his lack of rest, wasn't in the best of moods right now.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The stranger raised his hands in slight defense, "Hey, hey. I was just saying that because there are few Ravens in your age category. No reason to get snippy." His gaze lowered to the young man's drink. "Actually, there is. Do you actually drink this stuff?"

"Yeah, I do."

"You must have weak taste." He raised his own glass and gulped down the contents, "Now this is the stuff here."

Elijah took another look at the stranger and something clicked in his head that he didn't consider before. "Are you...a Raven?"

The man grinned as he downed the last of his drink, "Yeah. Just came back from vacation."

"Since when do Ravens take vacations?"

"Since they get the big bucks." He stood up from his seat, "Anyway, I've gotta go. Maybe we'll meet again, uhhh. What's your name?"

"Elijah."

"Okay, Elijah. Oh, I'm Koemai." He turned to the door, but stopped briefly and turned to grin, "Let's just hope we don't meet in the arena."

Elijah gave a smirk of his own. "Heh, fine."

***********

_Later...___

Elijah walked into the hanger, ready to get starting in his training. "Okay, what's the lesson for...? Koemai?"

Elijah was surprised to see the man he met in the bar standing in the hanger bay. Koemai was just as surprised.

"Elijah? Hey what are you doing here?"

"I work here."

"You do?"

"What are you doing here?" Elijah snipped back.

Koemai didn't appreciate his tone, "Visiting a friend, smart-aleck."

At this point, Cain came out of his room nearby to find the two of them arguing, "Hey, guys. What's the problem?"

"This guy's mouth is the problem." Koemai snarled.

Elijah retorted, "Look who's talking."

Cain decided to stand in between the two before they thought about fighting, "Whoa, whoa, time out. Both of you calm down."

"Calm do...?" Elijah growled at first, but realized, "You know this guy?"

Cain sighed, "Elijah, this is Koemai. My partner." He then turned to Koemai, "Koemai, this is Elijah. My student."

Elijah was taken aback by this. "You have a partner?"

Koemai put his hand on Cain's shoulder, much to his dismay. "Damn straight, kid. We're the legendary Hands of God."

"You...you're the Hands of God team?!"


	4. Invitation

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

Chap. 3

"You...you're the Hands of God team?!"

Elijah was simply dumbstruck by this news. The Hands of God were one of the fiercest, most powerful Raven teams he's ever heard of. In the arena, they had no equal, defeating their opponents with precision while leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. They became so good that over time, their exploits became somewhat of a legend among the lower ranked Ravens. Few knew who they were and even fewer could call them rivals.

"Are...you serious?"

Cain nodded, "Yes. Glaive and Darkhand were the Hands of God."

Elijah quickly sat down before he fell. He couldn't believe that his mentor was one of these deadly Ravens. If that was so, then his battle skills are far deadlier than he thought. 'If that's the case, then why doesn't he fight anymore?'

"What happened to you guys?"

Koemai was about to answer when Cain cut him off, "Time and unforeseen occurrences."

Elijah gave him a strange look while Koemai gave a sad one. But he wiped it away quickly and grinned, "Anyway, we're putting that behind us. In fact, that's why I'm here."

Cain turned to his partner, "What do you mean?"

Koemai answered, "I got an offer a while back and..." He stopped briefly and turned to Elijah, who was listening in.

"Hey kid, butt out. This is between me and him."

Elijah frowned, "I'm not a kid. I'm a grown@$$ man!"

Koemai turned fully to face him, "Oh is that right? Well how would you like a grown@$$...?"

"Stop it." Cain barked in slight irritation. The two turned back to him as he rubbed his head slightly.

"Koemai, say what it is you have to say. It's alright. He is my student after all."

Elijah snickered while Koemai grumbled, "Fine, fine. I was contacted a few days ago by a guy named Charles. He says he's forming a clan and wants us to join."

Cain blinked a bit. Raven clans were the newest groups uprising from the Cortex. They were Ravens who group together to form a single powerful unit. Usually they had a specific purpose or an agenda in mind, but most clans were often just a few Raven that worked together simply for the fun of it. However, one or two of them were highly dangerous. Because of this, and others like them, clans were often left alone. In fact, there were only six clans in existence. Majestic Force, Metal Gear, The Way, Death Dealers, Blood Omen, and The Animalz.

"What clan is he a part of?" Cain asked.

Koemai smiled, "That's the best part. It's an entirely new clan. It's to be called Clan Nightwatch. It's a basic clan unit, but he's got some good talent."

Elijah was now very interested, "Like who?"

"Well, let's see. He already has AC's White Wolf and Phantom and he said he had another one coming in. So what do you say? Shall the Hands of God come into force with them? Just imagine it. We would be unstoppable!"

Cain shook his head humorously at his friend's enthusiasm, but inwardly worried. What was the purpose of this clan? And how did this guy get Phantom on his side? Phantom was one of the finest Ravens around, called that because he had a habit of disappearing and reappearing on and off of enemy scopes. And White Wolf was another new Raven who was rapidly rising in the ranks. But even still, was he even ready to become fully active again? By nature, he was a loner. Whenever he fights, he prefers to do it alone. Even with Elijah and Koemai, Cain sometimes felt that there were some things a guy has to do alone. And then there was...

"Let's go for it!"

Both Cain and Koemai looked over at Elijah, who had an excited look on his face.

"What are you talking about?" Koemai growled. "He asked for us, not you, shrimp boy."

Elijah snarled back, "Oh really? Well, when you ask for the teacher, you get the student as well. And don't call me shrimp!"

"Drop dead, kid."

"Why you...!"

"Stop, stop it already." Cain lowered his head again in irritation. "Okay, look. I'll have to think about it. Clans aren't exactly safe and we don't know what this guy really wants. If you two want to join, that's fine. Be careful and let me know what his objectives are. If they're okay, then I'll consider membership, deal?"

Koemai jumped and placed his arm on his friend's shoulder (again), "You won't regret it."

Cain muttered to himself. "Too late."

********

The next session Cain put Elijah through was timing. Cain had set up a arena stage with five battle MTs. Elijah was to destroy them all within the time given limit. No problem. Havoc stumbled into the testing area and faced the five MTs. They were no different than all the others he's destroyed.

"No sweat. I'll be done in five seconds flat."

In a viewing room, Cain simply shook his head while Koemai watched from beside him. The test began and Havoc thrust into battle. Without a second wasted, he unloaded on the first MT. The bullets riddled through it, but the MT suddenly boosted to the side. At the same time, two others sidestepped and fired at him. Havoc reversed its boosters and shot away. Inside, Elijah was a bit surprised, but the surprise grew as the MT flew around him and continued to fire.

'What the heck? They're way too strong and fast to be just regular MTs. What are these guys?'

His com suddenly came up, "As you may have realized, these are no ordinary MTs. They are AI controlled, all using my battle data."

Elijah blinked in surprise, "You're telling me this now?"

The conversation was cut short when the MTs fired again. Havoc boosted back further and found himself against the wall. As the MTs closed on him, Elijah suddenly realized something.

_'Wait a second. Even if they have his data, they're still nothing, but MTs!'_

With a cry, Havoc boosted forward again and the MTs fired. But Havoc suddenly airlifted over them and slid behind them. Still boosting, Havoc half-circled around and unloaded on them. The MTs were too slow to turn and three of them were immediately gunned down. The remaining to began to boost to the side, but they were still to slow as Havoc came right at them.

"I am a Raven! No MT will ever defeat a Raven!"

Unloading his rage into his fire, Havoc completely wasted the two MTs and they exploded as such. Havoc lowered his smoking guns and the head turned to look toward the viewing room.

"Ha! How was that? Not too bad, huh?"

Cain simply folded his arms, "You're off by two seconds."

"What?"

Cain explained, "You hesitated before and when I told you that the MTs had my data, you panicked and backed away. Therefore, you lost two seconds."

Elijah was exasperated, "You can't be serious."

"I'm always serious." was the stoic reply.

********

_Later...___

Elijah was busily working on his AC Havoc. After the training session, he had some repairs to make. Luckily, Cain decided to end early today. Elijah smiled to himself. _'Me, in a Raven clan.__ I'll become one of the best Raven's alive.'_

"Hey kid." Elijah looked down from his machine to see Koemai coming up the railing. Eligah frowned a bit, but Koemai held his hands up briefly.

"Hey, hey. I'm not here to fight. I just wanted to say that you got some talent."

Elijah blinked. He didn't expect such a compliment from him.

"You have a good handle on the weapons and maneuverability, but you have to work on aim. No offense, but it sucks."

Elijah would have gotten angry except that he found it funny. It was true too. Elijah chuckled a bit.

"Yeah, that's what Cain keeps telling me. That my aim his a little off."

"Well, don't worry about it. He's just afraid of being shot by his own partner." He nervously scratched the back of his head, "I...uhh, did that sometimes."

Both Ravens exchanged a glance and then suddenly burst out laughing. When they managed to calm it down a bit...

"He can be a stiff, but he knows what he's talking about." Koemai said after breaths.

Elijah took a deep breath, "Can you tell me something?"

"What?"

"Why doesn't he fight anymore? I've only seen him in one or two arena battles and they're always too short for me to see anything. Why?"

Koemai looked away, but Elijah saw the hint of sadness that had crossed his eyes.

"If he hasn't told you, then neither will I."

Elijah stood up from his machine, "Was it really that bad?"

Koemai simply nodded. "You should have seen him in the old days. Before the surface opened up. He was good. He knew his machine and the machine knew him. He became one of the best mostly because he defeated many of his opponents without having to resort to killing. Sometimes, I wonder what he would be like if he broke loose."

"It's like that?"

"Yeah. He still has the skill, but his soul just isn't the same." He moved away from the railing, "Anyway, I've got to be going. I've got a clan to join." He walked down the railing and toward the hanger doors, but stopped and turned.

"Oh, and Elijah?"

"Yeah."

Koemai smiled briefly, "It'd be cool if you joined too. Even if you are a scrawny piece of meat."

"Thanks...Hey!"

"Just kidding." Then a thought occurred, "Hey, how about we get a drink? I feel like clubbing tonight."

"You...clubbing?"

The spiky-haired Raven frowned, "Yeah. What, you got a problem with that?"  
  


Elijah shook his head as he came down, "No. It's just that...Cain never does stuff like that. Or anything else fun for that matter."

Koemai laughed, "I told you. He's a stiff. Come on. With that face, you could bring the honeys to me."

"Yeah right. Finders keepers."

"Oh, it's like that?"

Elijah grinned "Oh yeah. It's definitely like that."

*******

_Next day..._

Koemai awoke to the semi-bright light of the rising sun. He began to rise from his bed, but suddenly stopped short as a massive headache stormed in.

"You two have fun?"

Koemai blinked and looked beside him to see his friend. Cain was currently standing over by a nearby stove preparing a hot drink.

"Wha...uggghhh? Cain? How did we get here?

Cain took a cup and began to pour in the hot water, "You two practically slobbered your way here last night. I probably should have left you both on the streets, but fortunately for you, I'm a nice guy."

On the bed cot next to his was Elijah, still asleep. Koemai arose from the bed again, but this time more slowly and grumbled, "Ow, my head..."

"Drink up."

Cain handed him a hot mug and placed it before him. Tentatively, Koemai picked up the mug and looked into it.

"Ugghh, coffee.

"Complaining as always." Cain retorted. "Just like in the old days. You get all drunk and I'd be left to pick up the pieces."

Koemai took a sip and felt his already throbbing head simmer down a bit, "Stop saying, 'like in the old days.' We're not that old. Well, maybe you are." Another sip, "So what have you been doing?"

Cain moved to prepare another cup, "Not much. Just working, as usual."

"Oh really?" Koemai took a slightly bigger gulp of the coffee and looked up at his friend. "Cain, I think you should join up with me and the clan. It'll do you some good."

"I said I'll think about it."

Koemai continued, "You can't let what happened to her stop you."

An aggravated tone arose, "Don't start..."

"Cain, listen, ow." He sat up from the bed, "It happens. You were both Ravens. You knew what something like this would have happened and you were aware of the risks. You have to let it go and move on."

"No."

Koemai sighed, "I'm saying this because of him." He pointed to Elijah, "He's your student, but he's not going to learn anything from you if you're always holding back."

Cain stopped what he was doing and looked at his student briefly as Koemai continued speaking.

"Come on. I know that deep within you beats the heart of a warrior. You dip into it each time you enter that machine and fight. All I'm asking is for you not to suffer slowly like her."

"......."

With great effort, Koemai stood up from the bed as he doused down the last of the coffee, "Just think about it."

With that, Koemai left the room, leaving Cain to his thoughts as he stood over the stove. But unaware to both of them, Elijah was already awake and had (through the massive headaches) listened in on the conversation.

_'Her?'_

***********

_Later that day..._

"So this is yours?"

Elijah and Koemai arrived at Koemai's hanger where before them stood Koemai's signature AC. It was colored much like Havoc except that it was blacker and that one of its arms was a complete crimson color. It was equipped with a machine gun on the right and on the left was a thick looking laser-blade. Seated on the back was a chain gun and a grenade launcher. Finally, its shoulders had extra shielding. The dark AC seemed to glare menacingly at the two.

"Yeah. It used to be Darkhand, but I've altered it and changed it into Bloodhand. Pretty cool, huh?"

Elijah examined it over, "Highly armored and variable ammo. Isn't this...a little overkill?"

Koemai grinned, "Yeah. Ain't it kewl?"

Elijah shrugged, "Good point. So, what's the verdict with the clan?"

"Oh that. Well, I told them that you wanted to join as well and they said they'd consider it. You've apparently set up a good record in the arena and in your missions."

"Alright. Do...do you think Cain will join?"

Now Koemai shrugged, "I'm not sure. He has his own things to deal with so I don't know."

"I'm in."

Turning around, the two of them looked to see Koemai enter the hanger. His black trench coat swayed as he walked in with them and stared at Koemai.

"You were only right about one thing. I am a warrior. And for a warrior, the battle must join."

Koemai nearly jumped for joy, "Alright, the Hands of God are back! Vengeance..."

Cain smiled at their usual call and responded, "And justice."

The two looked over a Elijah and Koemai put a hand on his chin, "Well, I suppose he'll need one as well. How about destruction? Or annihilation? Or..."

"Salvation."

Koemai looked over at Cain once again, but Cain's focus was solely on Koemai. "That must suit you now, understand?"

Seeing that this was a serious matter, Elijah nodded, "Right. Vengeance, justice and salvation."

"The Hands of God."


	5. Nightwatch

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 4

_Wasteland_

Havok, Glaive and Bloodhand all soared across the desert wasteland in search for their contact. He had said that they were to meet together here so that there would be no tricks. As the three ACs continued on, Elijah was giddy inside is machine. Not only was he now included as one of the Hands of God, but now he would be a part of an even bigger group, a clan.

"There they are."

In the distance stood three ACs, all awaiting their arrival. Cain recognized both White Wolf and Phantom. Phantom was a four-legged lightweight model with a laser rifle and a howitzer. On its back was a single set of warhead-missiles. And the shoulders supported a stealth extension, thus granting it invisibility in radar. White Wolf was a mid-heavyweight machine, colored in white and grey with some splashes of red on it. It was armed with bazookas in both hands, a chain gun and a linear cannon on the back, and missile interceptors on the shoulders.

However, the third machine was unrecognized by all. It was a middleweight machine, tan in color with streaks of black across it. It was armed with a sniper rifle and an energy saber. On its back were dual grenade launchers and its shoulder sported a mid-flight hover extensions.

"That must be him. Let's go."

The three machines zoomed toward the other and stopped before them. The three Ravens stepped out of their machines and onto the cockpit hatch. Looking around, they saw the pilots of the other machines as well. The unrecognized AC stood in the center and standing on its hatch was a tall, dark-skinned man with a thick beard. He wore a pair of dark glasses on his face which obscured his eyes from view thanks to the sun. He tilted his head to look at the three arrivals.

"So you guys made it. The Hands of God team. It's been awhile since I've seen you in action."

Koemai joked, "Yeah well, we can't become legends if we don't disappear every once in awhile."

"True." The man smiled before turning his gaze toward Elijah. "And I see you've added another in your ranks. Who is he?"

"This is Elijah." Cain answered. "He's in training with me."

The man nodded, "I see. Well, you guys already know Baron and Ellie."

The Ravens in question were on his right and left sides. Baron, who stood on his AC White Wolf, was a large guy wearing thin glasses and a jacket. Ellie, who was on Phantom, was a thin woman wearing dark clothes. Her jet-black hair was tied in the back and her eyes were like a hawk's; sharp and piercing.

"By reputation only."

The man continued, "Well, we just have to wait for one more...ah, here she comes."

Turning around, the group could see a trail of dust flying up from the distance. In the center of it was a dark shape, an AC moving at high speed.

Koemai grinned, "She? Alright, another woman. I think I'm..."

His grin faded as the AC drew closer. It was a dark blue AC with hover legs. It held a machine gun in one hand and a missile launcher in the other. On its back was a long range energy cannon and extra ammo. And the shoulders had extra shielding. Koemai's face turned into a sullen frown.

Cain also recognized the approaching AC, "Isn't that Cloak? Then the pilot must be..."

The dark machine stopped in place and the hatch open. A gorgeous woman with brown hair and eyes came out of the vehicle.

"I didn't know you were invited." Koemai grumbled.

The woman looked at Koemai with a scowl, "Ditto. I might have reconsidered coming."

With everyone present, the Raven lowered down to the ground below. As they touched down, the woman ignored Koemai for a moment and came up to Cain.

"Cain, hiya!" She suddenly jumped at him and clasped him in a fierce hug, "I haven't seen you in awhile. How's it going?"

Cain nervously hugged back and she moved away, "The same. You haven't changed much, Diana."

Diana brushed a hand through her hair, "Why change perfection?" She then looked over to Elijah, who was standing on the side. "And who is this?"

"Diana, this is Elijah. Elijah, Diana."

Diana's eyes narrowed as she stalked toward him. "Hmm, he's cute." she said seductively. She then reached her hand up and lightly stroked his cheek. "You have a girl?"

Elijah was utterly stunned by the woman's advances. Koemai growled in the distance while Cain decided to intervene. "Don't get any ideas. I need him reasonably sane."

The woman gave a fake pout, "You haven't changed either. Okay, I'll lay off." She began to walk away, but turned to give him a sly wink. "For now."

At this point, Koemai couldn't contain his annoyance any longer, "Don't you have anything better to do than trying to pick up under-aged boys?"

Diana frowned, "Well, I once knew a man, but he then showed himself a punk."

"Better that than a slut." he countered.

"The hell with you!"

"You first!"

As the two argued, Cain strode next to Elijah, "They used to date each other for a while, and then well...you can see what happened."

"He dumped her?" Elijah asked.

"I'm not sure really." He looked at the young man and realized that he was still staring at Diana dreamily.

"Get your head out of the clouds. She's way out of your league and level."

"Yeah, right." he responded. "If you ask me, she right in my league."

Cain shook his head as he looked at yet another victim to Diana's charms. "Yeah, right in a league of trouble."

"Ah, hem."

Charles had called them into attention, causing the two to stop arguing.

"For those who don't know me, I'm Charles and this is my AC, Professional. I called you all here because I recognize the talent in each one of you." His gaze circled around to each person. "This clan, Nightwatch will become the most powerful clan in existence. But in order for that to happen, we must complete a task that no one has done. A deed that'll put us over the top and make our mark."

"What are you talking about?" Baron asked.

Charles stayed silent for a moment before answering. "Silent Line. We're going to be the first to cross it."

Everyone gasped. Silent Line is the border line into a secret territory. From long distance, there can be seen faint images of a city, far advanced than ever seen. However, no one has ever entered it. The border line is guarded by powerful satellites and unknown defenses. Any attempt to cross the line meets these forces and disappear, thus the name Silent Line. No one, corporation or other, has ever crossed it. It would be considered suicide to even try. And everyone knew it.

"Are you insane?" Diana shot out. "Silent Line?"

"That is crazy even for me." Koemai added.

Charles held his hands up, "I know. But think about it. If we can get beyond Silent Line, we would be able to obtain the technology there. Just image the sheer power that can come from it."

"Even so, there's no way across." Ellie responded. "All who have tried have died."

"No, not everyone. I survived."

This shocked everyone even more. The fact that someone had survived going into Silent Line was nothing less than a miracle.

"In a solo mission, I tried to cross Silent Line and I almost succeed." Charles began. "But my AC was too badly damaged and I was unable to continue on so I had no choice but to turn around." He looked up at his AC. "My machine still bears the scar, as do I."

The others looked to see that one of the black streaks that were on Professional was actually a damaged point that was left alone. And looking at Charles, they could faintly see the edge of a scar on his shoulder that looked like it ran straight down his chest.

"I know what to expect and what to face." He continued. "But I can't do it alone. A single Raven can't do it, but a clan can. But each Raven has to be good. Really good." he stressed. "That's why I called you guys. You are some of the best around. And together, we can break through the Silent Line."

"Well...It sounds like a long shot." Baron responded.

"I'm not saying we go right away. That's just crazy. What we do it train ourselves for it." He lifted his head as his eyes roved across each individual machine. "We learn each others strengths and weaknesses so that we all know what to do in a crisis situation. Once that is done, we make our dominance known in the other clans. That way, when we do cross the line, everyone will know who we are." Looking back down at the Ravens, "I'm not asking you to go in this half-baked. As my AC indicates, I'm a professional. You help me get across and we'll share in the spoils. So what's the verdict?"

The group stayed quiet for a while as each person was in thought. Finally...

"I'm in." Ellie responded. "I like the thought of making history."

"I'm in as well." Baron added. "If we reach it, such technology would put us over all."

Diana shrugged, "Aw, why not. Things have been boring lately. This sounds like fun."

"The chance to be the top always works for me." Elijah agreed.

"Count me in. I need the challenge." Koemai responded.

Charles then turned his attention to Cain, who had been silent throughout the entire exchange. "And what about you?"

Cain folded his arms, "This is dangerous on an entirely new level. But I guess that's part of the game. I'm in."

Charles smiled, "So it's unanimous. We are clan Nightwatch. We see things no one else will see. We do things no one else can do. Our mission is to be the ultimate clan. Our goal...our destiny is to be the first to cross the Silent Line."

_And so, a new clan is born...._


	6. First Challenge

Disclaimer: The usual.

Chap. 5

_Clan Nightwatch- Professional, White Wolf, Bloodhand, Glaive, Phantom, Cloak, Havoc _

_A new Raven clan recently formed, it is made up of a diverse group of pilots. With each one possessing incredible skill and potential, this clan may rise through the ranks quickly. However, only time can show if they possess the teamwork needed to compete with the other clans._

_"We see things no one else can see. We do things no one else can do."_

----------------------------------

It has been a week since the Ravens had formed the new Nightwatch clan and so far, they were working well. They engaged in group and single battles with each other in order to learn each other's strengths and weaknesses. With that part of the uniting now complete, the next phase can begin; whatever that is.

"Well another day, another day." Koemai commented as he and the others grouped together outside.

"You said it." Elijah agreed. "But the truth is I'm getting tired of fighting you losers. I want some real action."

"Look who's talking. You were the one who got blown up the first four times." Baron countered.

Elijah glared at his partner, "Hey! That was a fluke. Besides, my equipment didn't work well."

"Aw, that such a shame." Diana whispered near his ear. "And I was hoping I could give it a try."

Elijah's face flushed while Koemai growled angrily. "You are such a whore."

Diana moved away and called out in the air, "Did I just hear the sound of a @$$(#^ talking? It couldn't be. The only one around is..."

"Why don't you shut you mouth, *%^@&" Koemai roared.

The others watched as the two argued, again. This had become a common occurrence with them as the two of them argued constantly. 

Elijah shook his previous dazed away and muttered, "Why does this keep happening? I think I need a drink."

At that, Koemai and Diana instantly stopped arguing. Koemai grinned, "A drink? Well why didn't you say so? Let's get going." Looking at the others, "You guys want to come?"

Baron smiled, "You know me. It's not a day without a cold one."

Ellie nodded in agreement, "Same here. What about..."

She was about to mention Cain, but when she turned, the stoic Raven was a good walk away. However, he was able to hear her and respond, "No thanks. I've got work to do."

Cain disappeared away and Ellie gave a strange look, "Is he always like that?"

"Moody and utterly depressing? Yep." Koemai answered.

"Charles is like that as well."

Koemai shook his head, "No, Charles has a sense of humor." He then shot out, "Hey, what are we talking about here? Let's get drinking. Elijah's paying."

**"WHAT?!**** OH, HELL NO!!!!!"**

************

_Later on…___

Cain was out in the darkness of the night heading back to the hanger. The moon was in its crescent stage and thus not giving off a lot of light, but Cain didn't mind. He was finished with what he was doing and now was going to call it a night. But as he did, a dark figure suddenly appeared before him. The figure was shrouded in the dark, wearing a black trench coat much like Cain's. His eyes were barely visible, revealing only a thin scar over the right eye.

"You're in my way again" said a gruff voice.

"How so?"

"I know what you and the others are up to. Complete domination of the clans and Silent Line."

"Isn't that the goal of all the clans?" Cain said softly, purposely leaving out Silent Line. "To be number one?"

The figure moved closer, "Like I said. You're in my way again."

"On the contrary. It is you who is in my way." Cain countered.

"So that's it then."

The figure suddenly swooped forward, his coat flying open and a flash of metal slicing through the air. Cain narrowly ducked the attack, rolled on the ground and reached into his own coat. The shadowy figure turned slowly, revealing a katana sword in his hand. Cain pulled his arm out, showing his own blade. The two didn't move for a second before attacking each other. The blades clashed in the air repeatedly at a rapid pace. In one move, Cain managed to deflect a strike again him and counter with a sweep. But the dark stranger swiftly leaped over the sweep and landed away. He then moved in with a downward slash, but Cain raised his blade above and stopped the slice. He then pushed the blade away, rolled on the floor and stood on his feet again. The stranger stopped his assault and held the sword forward. Cain did the same, mirroring his opponent. Then without notice, he sheathed his sword in his coat. Again, Cain mirrored him and the two dark swordsmen faced each other.

"You've learned a trick or two." the stranger said, without a hint of fatigue.

"Same goes to you."

He snorted, "Just remember. If we meet on the battlefield, I'll kill you."

Cain gave a very brief ghost-of-a-grin, "As you keep saying, death is but a means to truth."

The figure turned away, "I'm glad you understand that. I may just shed a tear over your corpse."

The dark figure silently walked away and Cain muttered to himself, "Don't make promises you can't keep, Bane."

**********

_Bar..._

"Oh yeah! Now this is the stuff!"

Koemai, Baron, Elijah, Diana and Ellie were all together at one table in the local bar. Koemai went into his habit of yelling like a maniac at his first drink.

Elijah shook his head, "Do you have to do that every time?"

"Yeah. It's what I do." Koemai took another gulp, "You should try it sometime."

"Why don't you shut up over there?"

The yell came from another table and at that, Koemai turned toward it.

"Excuse me?"

One of the men sitting at the table yelled, "You heard me. Shut the hell up!"

"Or else what? You're going to make me?"

The man stood up from his seat. He was a tall man with no hair on his, and a thick beard and mustache on his face. A serpent tattoo was etched across his head.

"That's right." he snarled.

Koemai stood up as well, "You and what army?"

The man snapped his fingers and the men sitting with him a rose up, five in all. The guy formed behind the first as he folded his arms.

"What now, punk?"

Ellie looked up from her drink and suddenly spoke, "You haven't changed a bit, Darren."

The man named Darren looked over and saw the dark-haired woman, "Ellie?" His gaze then cycled over the others at the table, "Oh I see. So this is the Nightwatch Clan. A bunch of rejects and losers."

At this, Elijah, Baron, and Diana stood up as well. "Watch yourselves, boys." Diana said evenly. "Don't have your mouths write checks your body can't cash."

The men chuckled at her threat, "Is that so missy? What are you going to do? Spank me? Now that I think about it, that's doesn't sound like a bad idea, eh guys?"

The men started laughing some more until Ellie stood up as well. However Darren continued to smirk, "What? You've got a problem with this?"

Ellie glared a bit and then smirked, "You have a lot of mouth for being the lowest ranked clan around."

Elijah blinked, "They're a clan?"

Ellie nodded, "These waste of the human species is the Animalz Raven clan. They rank the lowest because they don't think."

Baron smiled, "Don't or can't?"

At this, one of the men tried to lunge at him, but was held back by the other. Darren frowned, "How about we have a little match to prove it? Your clan verses ours. All out warfare. What do you think?"

Koemai narrowed his eyes, "If that's the case, let's make it interesting. The losers have to put up their money and pay the winners. How does that sound?"

The group looked over at each other. Clearly what Koemai was suggesting was extreme. The combined amount of seven Ravens was high. The winner would walk away with a great deal of credits. A deal like that was too good to ignore.

"Deal. We get to kick you butts and walk away with a fortune."

Koemai smiled, "You might as well fork over the money now, because we are going to kick your @$$%# all over the arena."

Darren smirked as well, "We'll see about that." Looking at his friends, "Come on guys. Let's leave this dump."

The group of men exited to the door, but not before Darren turned around and pointed at Koemai like a gun.

"Boom."

When they were finally gone, the others looked at Koemai.

"Are you insane? I can't afford to lose credits now." Elijah complained.

Don't worry about it. We just have to beat them, that all. How hard can it be?

Apparently, Koemai didn't know that the Animalz clan utilized high armored and heavily equipped ACs. They could move into an enemy stronghold and literally run it over.

"He's right. This is what we need to do, right?" Elijah said suddenly. "We want to be on top. So we might as well start here."

"Still, it's risky." Ellie started. "We've never fought in an actual battle together."

Diana nodded in agreement, but replied, "Well, there no sense in backing out now. We might as well go for it."

"What about Charles and Cain?" Baron suggested.

Koemai merely waved a hand, "Don't worry about Cain. I'll handle him."

**********

_Hanger..._

"You did what?"

Koemai had just told Cain what had transpired.  Needless to say, Cain wasn't exactly thrilled about this.

"Oh come on. It's an easy win."

Cain shook his head, "You should know by now that there's no such thing as an easy win." Sighing to himself, "What am I going to do with you?"

Koemai gave a weak smile, "Hey come on. Look on the bright side. If we win, we'll be rolling in dough. What the worse that can happen?"

"We could lose."

Koemai frowned at his friend's negative behavior, but then...

"Oh well, might as well go for it. This is what we're supposed to do, right?"

"That's right." Koemai smiled.

"Well, it looks like I have more work to do now."

The smile disappeared again, "Aw, come on!"


	7. The Animalz

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 6

_Clan Animalz- The Beast, Raptor, Chewie, Berserker, Razor-Claw, Tyrannus, Croc _

_One of the newer clans, this group is composed mostly of high armored and heavily armed AC which can decimate an entire landscape in a matter of seconds. Though they are low in rank, they possess a fierce rage that is not to be underestimated._

_Motto- "Nobody can stop...The ANIMALZ!!!!!"_

---------------------------------

The Nightwatch members had regrouped in one of the hanger building within the city. As they came together, they discussed the battle that was to come. Everyone, with the exception of Charles, was there.

"City terrain." Cain muttered. "Buildings can provide good cover."

Baron looked over the terrain map as well, "These buildings aren't that well structured. A good blast will cause them to collapse."

Koemai nodded, "Still, it can be useful. If they are destroyed, they can be used for surprise attacks."

Ellie examined the map as well, "Don't you think the terrain is a little limited?  For fourteen Ravens, this is too small to fight in."

She was right. According to the designated area, the battlefield was too small for a descent battle. They would wind up shooting each other without any chance of evasion.

"That's why only six will be fighting."

Everyone turned to see Charles walk in the room. The sturdy man strode in the midst of the group and folded his arms as he looked at the battle map.

"Charles? What do you mean?"

"Well, we can't all fight at once. Too many variables." The man adjusted his glasses slightly, "I spoke with the Animalz and they've agreed that it will be a three on three battle. The winners get the reward for all of us."

Diana nodded, "A triple-tag match? Well this should be good." She then asked, "Who will be fighting?"

"On their side, The Beast, Berserker, and Tyrannus."

"And us?" Ellie asked.

Charles closed his eyes and gave a slight grin, "Who else? The Hands of God."

Baron frowned slightly, "Why them?"

Charles turned to look at the three Ravens, "Before we joined together, they were already a team. Since we still need work in battling together, it would be more efficient if they fought in this."

Elijah grinned and cracked his knuckles, "Alright. Finally, to test out my mad skills."

"I bet." Diana smirked.

This earned a blush from him and a rapid snarl from Koemai. However, Ellie decided to step in before they began arguing.

"Don't even start, you two."

Cain folded his arms, "The Beast, Berserker, and Tyrannus. Their more heavily armored types." He suddenly began heading for the exit, "I better get to work."

Koemai's jaw dropped, "More work? You've got to be kidding me"

Cain didn't stop walking, "We have to find out their strengths and weaknesses. Once that's done, we can stand a better chance against them."

"Come on. These guys are cakewalk." Koemai shot back, "We can handle them easily."

Cain stopped briefly, "Well, you think that. I'm going to prepare." He then turned his head to look at his apprentice. "Elijah, I want you in the practice room."

Elijah blinked, "Huh?"

"That's right. You'll train for two hours in order to get ready."

The young Raven gasped, "Two hours?! Aw, that's grimy."

Cain went back to walking out, "No complaining. I'll check on you in ten minutes."

Elijah's shoulders slumped at the thought of two hours of straight training. Koemai decided to act on his friend's behalf.

"Aren't you taking this a little too seriously?"

Cain stopped once again, his voice becoming low, but firm as he turned fully and looked at Elijah in the eye. "When a person loses fear of something, they're more likely to get hurt by it."

Cain finally walked out and Koemai simply shrugged, "Well, when he's right, he's right."

As those two talked, Ellie stared after the dark Raven. He seemed so serious...about everything. _Why was that? Perhaps I'll find out._

************

"Cain."

Ellie walked into Cain's quarters. Once again, he was on his computer terminal working. The screen showed the profiles and the statistics of the three Ravens they would be battling. He was studying both the ACs and the Ravens.

"Yes?"

She moved toward the table and then seated herself on the table, "Don't you think you're working your student a little hard?"

Cain's eyes didn't waver from the screen, "Yes. But the world is a hard place. He has to be ready for it."

Ellie sharp eyes studied him thoroughly. He gave off no reactions and no hints she could use to talk to him about. Her eyes then focused on his neck. A thin band was encircled around it and fell down beneath his shirt. Reaching out, she curved her finger around it. Cain instantly stopped typing and reached to grab her hand, but she reached it and pulled it out, revealing the other end. On it were two golden rings, each one engraved with a single-winged black bird.

"Nice."

Cain grabbed the rings and quietly stuffed them back in his shirt. Ellie smiled inwardly, glad that she was finally able to get a reaction out of him.

"So who was she?"

Cain stopped briefly, "No offense, but it's none of your concern."

Ellie nodded, realizing that she had hit a sore spot. "My apologizes. I just wanted to know...why you are the way you are."

Cain looked up at her, gazes meeting. "Well, now you know. Now if you'll excuse me..." He looked back at the screen, "I have work to finish."

"Sure." Ellie plopped off the table and began to walk out. However, just before she closed the door, she asked a question.

"What was her name?"

"Alia."

***********

The three Ravens assembled before the city battlefield. It was a small area in the middle of a desert. Buildings were damaged due to previous Raven battles and some were in ruins. The three ACs stalked into the deserted area, waiting for their opponents to show.

"Alright, so what's the plan?" Elijah asked within his Havoc AC

"We annihilate them." Koemai answered. "Plain and simple."

Cain focused his eyes on the terrain with Glaive as he answered Elijah's question, "Elijah, you handle Tyrannus. He has less speed, but don't get drawn in close to him. I'll deal with Berserker. Koemai, you have the leader."

Koemai grinned, "The Beast? Alright. Just the way I like it."

Cain continued, "Use the buildings often. They have powerful weaponry, but it's very limited, so we want to drain them as fast as possible. Also, watch your backs. They like teaming up on single Ravens often."

"Like a pack of dogs." Elijah muttered.

Cain nodded, "If we can separate them and fight them in one on one combat, we have a good chance of winning this."

Koemai looked over at Glaive with a smirk, "You really did your homework on these guys, huh?"

Cain didn't respond to the joke, but he did say, "Oh, and Koemai. Under no circumstances are you to play that song, okay?"

Koemai frowned once again, "Aw, come on. Where's the fun in that?" When Cain didn't respond, he conceded, "Alright, alright. But you owe me a favor for this."

Suddenly, their FCS radars lit up, indicating the enemy's approach.

"Here they come!" Elijah yelled.

The three enemy ACs moved toward them with oppressive power. All three ACs were heavyweights, loaded with powerful ammunition and EO cores. Berserker had normal heavy legs and was equipped with a bazooka and a machine gun in its hands, a pulse cannon and a linear cannon on the back. Tyrannus had reverse-joint legs and was equipped with rocket weapon arms, a chain gun and a grenade launcher on the back. The Beast was a  tank-legged type, equipped with grenade launcher arms, and a dual chain gun on the back. All of them were colored in dark camouflage colors and patterns. Each AC fired a blast, causing the Hand of God to scatter.

"We need a new plan." Elijah called as he piloted Havoc behind one of the buildings to aviod fire.

Bloodhand flew behind a building as well, "I have an idea. We better get airborne. We can definitely out-fly these guys."

The idea came too late as the buildings exploded behind their backs, revealing their locations. The three ACs tried to take flight, but the level of fire at them was too heavy and they were grounded.

"They're not going to let us up."

"Oh yes they will." Cain said from Glaive.

The other two looked at Glaive powered up its OB.

"Are you nuts?" Elijah shouted.

"Just get ready to fly." he responded.

Glaive suddenly shot right at them at full speed. The three Ravens fired on the lone Raven, but then Glaive raised its arm and fired a grenade round, hitting the ground in front of the three and created an explosion that blinded then momentarily. While that happened, Glaive suddenly lifted off the ground and flew over them. Cutting off the OB, Glaive instantly activated the turning booster extension and fire again, hitting the back of Berseker.

"You son of a..."

Berserker launched away and began to chase after Glaive. The other two looked at their mad comrade before returning their attention to the other two...who were gone.

"Hey, where the hell are the others?" Darren yelled from The Beast.

His question was soon answered when weapons fire emerged from the skies. Above the two, Bloodhand and Havoc were diving on the two. Havoc was shredding Tyrannus with his machine guns, damaging it severely. Despite being heavily armored, reverse-joint ACs still tend to take damage easily. Bloodhand on the other hand, was having trouble bringing down The Beast.

"You can't touch me." Darren mocked.

The monster AC opened two panels on its arms, activating the dual function in the grenades. Now locked onto Bloodhand, both arms fired simultaneously. Bloodhand narrowly dodged the deadly fire and it flew by and completely annihilated a building. Bloodhand let loose a round of bullets from the chain gun, but they didn't seem to affect the AC much. _'Guess he pushed me to it.'_ Koemai growled inwardly as he unfolded his own grenade launcher.

The Beast launched another dual fire grenade at Bloodhand. At the same time, Bloodhand fired his own grenade shot. The two blasts collided with one another, exploding tremendously and causing some nearby buildings to crumble. When the blast cleared, The Beast looked for it target, only to find it seconds away from it, it's short energy blade ignited.

"Oh, sh..."

Too late, as Bloodhand slashed the thick blade right into the upper core section of the AC. The armored AC tried backing away, activating its EOs as it began its retreat. But the tank AC was too slow to escape and Bloodhand stayed on him like a hound, staying close so that the grenades would be ineffective, ignoring the energy beams pelting him from the EO and either slashing with its blade or damaging it further with the chain gun. Finally, The Beast was backed into a building, trapped and badly damaged as Bloodhand moved in for the final attack. Koemai laughed insanely inside as his AC suddenly dropped the machine gun and reached out for The Beast's head.

"This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! Its burning grip tells me to defeat you! Time to say goodbye!"

Bloodhand's red hand smashed into The Beast head and crushed it in, defeating it.

"I've always what to say that."

*****

Meanwhile, Tyrannus was on retreat from the attacking Havoc. It had taken far too much damage from Havoc's combined machine gun attack and was trying to buy time to recover.

"There you are!"

Havoc suddenly flew out from one of the buildings and fired on Tyrannus. Tyrannus dashed away and the bullets shredded the building, destroying it. Enraged at being pursued like this, Tyrannus turned a fired back, hurling several rockets at once at Havoc. Havoc backed away from the fire, but one of the rockets hit the right arm, blasting it right off. Havoc stopped in his assault and Tyrannus saw what he had done.

"My, how the tables have turned."

Tyrannus suddenly attacked, firing rounds from his chain gun. Havoc was now the one forced the retreat as Tyrannus began his assault. Havoc tried to turn and fire, but the enemy AC was always on him. He had to think of something and fast.

_"Use the buildings often."_

Elijah quickly remembered that and began to form a plan. He continued to fly away, heading toward one of the buildings. Tyrannus continued pursuit, thinking that he had Havoc cornered.

_'This had better work.'_

Havoc raised its remaining arm and fired at the building before him. As it crumbled down, he went straight into it. Tyrannus followed him through the falling debris, but when he came out on the other side, Havoc was gone.

"What the...? Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!"

Tyrannus was soon riddled with bullets and fell to its knees. Behind it, Havoc, who was still in the debris, stood with his weapon smoking. He had used the falling debris as cover and then stopped, allowing Tyrannus to pass by him in the rubble. It was a long shot, and the debris could have messed him up more, but it worked.

"Alright. One down."

"Make that two." At that point, Bloodhand had walked out from the side of one of the building. Its metal hand still had pieces of the ACs head in it.

"Alright, two down." Elijah then looked around. "Wait. Where's Glaive?"

Koemai searched around as well, "I don't know. I haven't heard from him since he overboosted."

"Do you think he's...?"

"No."

That response came from Glaive, who was current stalking toward the rest of his comrades. The armor was singed slightly, but other than that, it wasn't seriously damaged.

"Hey, what happened?" Elijah question abruptly.

Cain simply closed his eyes, "He came. We fought. I won. The end."

Elijah shrugged and then suddenly grinned, "You know what this means? We won! Alright!"

Koemai nodded, a grin on his face as well, "And with the money they now owe us, we are going to par-tay tonight!"

Cain just sighed and piloted his AC along with the other back to the garage, leaving behind three defeated ACs. One with a crushed head, one teeming with bullet holes, and the last...slashed apart at the joints.


	8. Dark Secret

Disclaimer: See chapter one

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_AN: Sorry. This chapter is kind of short._

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Chap. 7

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_Hanger..._

After the battle, the Nightwatch clan regrouped to collect their pay. Charles had appeared a little later with the credits from the defeated clan.

Baron grinned, "Alright. Payday."

Charles nodded to the three Ravens responsible. "You three did very well. Not a bad start for the clan."

"Yeah. No one will mess with us now." Koemai gloated.

Charles shook his head slightly, "Don't get ahead of yourself. That was just one victory. But it still made an impact." Looking back at the credits, "Anyway, here you guys go."

Koemai quickly swiped his share of credit and gave Elijah a light elbow, "Oh is this a time to celebrate or what?"

"I guess." Elijah replied softly

Koemai blinked, "Hey, what's up?"

Elijah shook his head and grabbed his credits, "Oh nothing. It's nothing."

Charles continued to pass out the credits until he was finally done. Cain was the last to take his and after receiving it, he simply turned and left. While a few of the others looked at him strangely, Koemai turned to Elijah once again.

"Okay, seriously. What's the problem?"

"Well..." Elijah scratched his head, "I missed seeing him in action. I wanted to see what he could really do." He then frowned, "But by the time the battle was over, I missed it."

Koemai shrugged, "Oh, I see. Well, there's always next time."

"I guess." He shook his head and looked back at the credits, "Hey, what am I so upset about? Let's go get a drink." He grinned, "Your treat."

"WHAT!?!?!"

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*********

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_Next day..._

Elijah was called in for his next training session. He had a great time parting with the other Ravens (Minus Cain and Charles) and Cain had allowed him an extra couple of hours of rest before resuming at nightfall. Now rested, Elijah climbed into his Havoc and activated the systems. Havoc moved out and into the arena for its next target. As the doors on the other end opened, Elijah felt a little giddy at the moment ready to take on whatever Cain could throw at him.

_Boy was he in for a shock..._

"What...is that?"

"A new AC AI. Elijah, meet Dark Glaive."

An AC was stationed right across from him. It was colored in sleek black with dark red areas. But what made it shocking was that it had the same exact equipment and parts that Glaive has. Extra boosters in the back, a grenade launcher on the right arm and a Moonlight blade on the left. Its eyes gleamed in crimson red.

"Dark...Glaive?"

"This AI is equipped with my data, just like the MTs before." Cain announced from the control booth. "Difference is you're facing an AC now, one equipped with the same parts as my Glaive. Let's see how you do."

Cain pressed a button on the control booth and the AI soon shot into action. Elijah blinked and automatically let out a stream of gunfire. The AI took the shot briefly before zipping away. While he moved, Elijah calmed himself. He dealt with this before, when he fought the MT AIs. But this would be different. This would be like battling Cain himself. A strange grin formed on his face. _'Now I can really show him what I can do.'_

Havoc raised his machine gun and let out a full stream on Dark Glaive. The AI flew back and out of Havoc's lock range. Havoc gave chase and continued to fire when suddenly he noticed that D. Glaive was beginning to glow. Before Havoc could react, D. Glaive had overboosted right for him. Havoc unloaded another round of gunfire, but the bullets were missing due to D. Glaive's speed. But Havoc was familiar with this tactic. The white-blue blade shone in the air and lashed out, but Havoc suddenly shot off to the side, avoiding the deadly blade. With its back now turned, Havoc clicked on both machine guns and let them loose on D. Glaive.

_'You're mine.'_

But he had forgotten about the shoulder booster extensions, which ignited and spun him around, causing him to face Havoc once again. Havoc was shocked as D. Glaive's grenade launched glowed and blasted right in his face. Havoc fell back and tried to recoil from the blast. But within the fire, the blue-white energy blade shimmered to life again.

"NO!"

Panicked, Havoc rushed back, barely avoiding the deadly Moonlight slash. Reacting to the miss, Havoc activated his EOs and unloaded both his machine guns on D. Glaive. The mixture of solid and energy fire swarmed the AI, damaging it in several areas and causing it to move back. But Havoc continued to move in, unleashing his fury on the dark AI. D. Glaive flew away and fired another grenade round, but Havoc sidestepped the blast and continued firing. Elijah moved in more on the wounded machine and Elijah was more than ready to finish it when...

**Beep, beep, beep...**

Elijah suddenly looked at his fuel gauge. It was on red. _'No, not now.__ How...?'_

It was then that he realized that he drained his energy by overusing the EOs and the boosters. Now he was stuck on walking power. But that's okay. He still had...

"What?"

He also saw that his left machine gun was out of ammo and his right had only 150 rounds left. _'That should still be enough to...'_

His thought was soon interrupted by the glowing white slash across the screen...

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"Alright, you win."

Elijah was now out of his AC, which had a heavy slash across its core. It was fortunate that the machine was also equipped with safety options that prevent the AI from killing him. But his machine didn't have the same luck and would take three days straight to fix. Cain stood beside him as he gazed at his AC.

"What do you mean?"

Elijah sighed, "You've shown me that I'm just not ready to see you fight yet."

Cain simply shook his head, "That wasn't the purpose of this test. I just wanted to see how you would fare against a high level opponent. I want you to practice fighting him so that you can get used to fighting under harder strain."

Cain turned and began to walk out of the hanger. Elijah thought about it for a moment and then asked the retreating figure...

"So you weren't trying to avoid me when we fought the Animalz?"

Cain stopped briefly and then resumed his walk out of the hanger, leaving his student in slight confusion. Cain strode outside. The sun was beginning to set, but his dark shades remained on his face.

"You still didn't show him what he wanted to see."

Cain stopped again, recognizing the voice of Ellie. Turning his head, he saw the dark-haired woman leaning on the garage door with her arms folded.

"I showed him a glimpse." he replied softly. "I don't want to show any more than that. Not yet anyway."

"Why?" she questioned. "What are you afraid of showing him?"

No response...

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*******

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_Next day..._

Koemai awoke to the morning with a slight headache. He had been drinking again, but not much. However, it did leave an impression which was becoming evident on his head. Growling, he set a pot and heated some water. As he did, his gaze wavered to the window and outside, where he saw Cain stuffing a credit pad in his pocket.

_'Huh? Where is he...uggghh...damn headache..."_


	9. Dark Motions

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 8

_-Combat mode engaged.-_

The door to the elevator opened and Havoc walked out. After receiving a mission from Kisaragi, Elijah readily accepted and took off in Havoc. The mission was fairly simple. He just had to reactivate the fire suppression systems within the facility. Apparently a fire broke out there and they were unable to reach the systems themselves, so they had to call in for a Raven. However, it was noted that the fire itself might have been the result of sabotage. But still, Elijah wasn't worried. Corporations tend to be a bit panicky about things. _'I'll just turn on the systems, collect my money and go home.'_

But first thing's first. He had to unlock the gates which held the fire in containment. According to the map, that should be at the other end of the corridor. Igniting his booster, Havoc slid across the floor toward his first objective. On the way there, he spotted two defense guns that had been left on. The machines swiveled toward him and opened fire. A few of the bullets hit, but did very little to damage the AC. Wasting no time, Havoc fired and the cannons blew apart after a few rounds. Still moving, Havoc found the gate and opened it. On his left was the lock control. Moving the machine to it, Elijah punched in the key and the light turned blue, indicating that the locks were unlocked. A sudden shift of movement caught his attention and Havoc turned to find two guard MTs. They were both cylinder-shaped and rolling on wheels.

"You've got to be kidding me."

Six bullets (total) put an end to them and Havoc moved on. Checking the map again, he located the fire suppression systems. There were a total of three systems he had to reach in order for his mission to be complete. But the problem was that the systems were all in areas of extreme fire. _'All of them? That is strange. I may have to reconsider the fact that it might be sabotage.'_ Shrugging it off, Havoc moved to the first area. The first gate wasn't too far from the locking area and Havoc opened the gate. No sooner as he did was he then greeted with a thick cloud of smoke. _'Oh great.__ Just what I need.'_ Continuing on, Havoc walked in, his FCS alerting him of the few security cannons that were still active. After disposing of them, he opened the gate and a massive fire raged before him. Looking around, he saw no way to avoid the fire. The fire suppressant system was right on the other side of it.

"Damn. This is going to get hot."

Activating his boosters to full, Havoc flew right into the flames. As he did, the armor began to heat up, causing the AP to drop rapidly. He didn't stop until he had reached the system and readily activated it. As soon as he did, the massive sprinklers above came to life and rained down water on the fire. The raging inferno soon quieted as Havoc moved to leave the room. Elijah checked his AP. _'7004. Well it could have been worse.'_ he mused. He moved to the next gateway and opened it. Again there was huge smoke, security cannons, raging fires, and cooling waters. Elijah grimaced inside while he removed his shirt due to the extreme heat. _'I didn't think it would be this easy.'_

He then reached the third and final area. Again, things were the same. Thick smoke, security cannons, etc. However, when he opened the gate, he was faced with a fire that was vastly bigger than the others. And once again, the system was on the other side. _'This is getting ridiculous.'_ he fumed as he moved to fly in again. But his FCS suddenly blinked and Havoc moved out of the way of a gun shot. Looking over to the side, he saw a single battle MT. _'I got surprised by that?'_ The MT stalked toward him and fired again. Havoc quickly dodged the fire and shot the MT down. However, Havoc found himself diving right into the flames. Moving over, he narrowly avoided them and landed on one of the damaged tanks. It was there that he saw the system.

_'Alright.__ I can just fly over and...hm?'_

Elijah slowly looked upward to see the smoke was leaving the area from above him. Looking up, he saw that the MT's fire had blasted a grating open over his head. _'Hmm. Aw what the hell.'_ Havoc boosted upward and found himself in a long corridor. He flew down and found another grating. Shooting it down, Havoc dove in and encountered to patrol MT's. _'Oh, this again.'_ The machines were finished in no time and Havoc looked around. _'Nothing of interest.__ This was a waste of...maybe not.' _In the corner of the room was what appeared to be an optional part. Havoc picked it up and examined it. _'MWG-TQ/ ESE.'_  He then placed the part into a spare compartment. _'This may be very useful. Now to finish this mission.'_ Retracing his steps, Havoc landed back on the tank and flew over to the system. He activated it and the final system of water came to life, reducing the fire to nothing. Elijah grinning inside his machine. _'This was a good day. Completed the mission without a problem and even got an extra part in the process.'_ As he moved to leave, he was contacted by his informant.

"An unknown enemy has arrived in the facility. Check it out."

_'An unknown enemy?__ Well this just gets better.'_ Havoc rushed to the elevator to check it out. As the elevator moved, Elijah began thinking. _'If it's an AC, I shouldn't have too much of a problem. The area is sealed, but not too closed in to prevent maneuverability.'_ The elevator stopped and Havoc exited. When he did, he found the entire area was lit on fire. _'I guess it was sabotage. But who?'_

His question was soon answered as a bulky-looking machine moved out from behind one of the generator and focused on him. _'What the heck is that? It that an MT?'_ The machine was colored white, with heavy looking armor and a massive cannon weapon on its right arm. The machine stood still as it further examined him. Suddenly, the bulky machine jumped up and fired two missiles out of its shoulders. Havoc quickly dove to the side and opened fire, but the machine showed zero signs of slowly down. Havoc decided to use his second machine gun, but the white machine suddenly fired a grenade launcher. Havoc quickly avoided the flare, but it exploded behind him and knocked him forward. The white machine fired another grenade and pretty soon, Havoc was on the run.

"This is crazy." he muttered as he fired his machine guns, which still didn't seem to affect the machine. _'This guy is a powerhouse and he's more maneuverable than I am?'_ Havoc continued to slide around the generator until the white machine suddenly stopped. Havoc stopped as well, confused by the strange action.

_'What is he...?'_

_Skkkkk__, skkkkkk, skkkkkk!!!_

The cannon arm of the MT unfolded and it now fired bolts of white energy blasts at Havoc. Havoc took flight again, but one of the energy blasts hit him and he was blasted off his feet. Elijah worked furiously to get his machine mobile again as the bolt continued to fly at him. Elijah checked the AP.

_'3291?__ No way! How strong is this guy?'_

The cannon arm folded back up and the MT repeated its previous fire with the grenades and missile barrage. Elijah continued to fire, but the machine wasn't going down. _'I have to stop this guy, but how? He's more armored than I am and more powerful. Wait...'_

He suddenly remembered his previous battle with the Animalz clan. They were big and bulky, but were defeated when they were attacked from above. _'But I can't even do that. He moves around too much. The only time he did was...'_ Elijah eyes widened with enlightenment and he grinned.

"That's it. Give me everything you've got!"

The MT didn't answer back, but continued its barrage. Avoiding the grenades was simple enough, but the missiles were another story. Elijah kept get picked off by the missiles and he had to stop firing back for awhile. Finally, the MT stopped again and the cannon arm began to unfold.

_'That's it!'_

Havoc suddenly shot forward and took to the sky. The MT wasn't swayed and began firing, but Havoc continued on and flew right over the MT and landed behind it. Turning around, Elijah activated his EOs and unloaded all his ammo on the MT. The MT struggled to turn around and face him, but Havoc kept moving to stay behind and the weapons fire at that range was too much. By the time it did, The MT exploded into flames. Elijah backed Havoc away from the explosion and sighed. Checking his AP...

_'0882?__ Talk about your close calls.'_

_Mission__ complete.___

***************

_Trene____City__..._

A hunk of machinery collapsed onto the ground as the dark AC, Bloodhand stood over his victim. Looking down, Koemai grinned, seeing the damage he had caused his opponent, particularly the crushed head. _'Heh, you didn't have a chance'_ he smirked as the right hand held some scrap metal of the AC's head.

"Very impressive finish, Bloodhand."

Koemai looked up at one of the skyscrapers to see a group of ACs standing on top of it, all in front of the bright moon. In front was a black AC, totally void of any color, save for the fiery yellow eyes. It was this AC that was speaking.

"Who are you guys?" Koemai asked, although it didn't take a genius to realize that this was a clan.

The dark AC answered, "We are the Death Dealers. I am Reaper, the seeker of death."

Koemai blinked slightly. He knew about the Death Dealers clan. These guys were off the wall insane. They were well known for totally annihilating their opposition, both in single combat, group combat, and even on their missions. Even though they intrigued him, he had to be careful. They were one of the most dangerous clans around. Even more so about their leader. No one knew who he really was, not even his own clan.

"What do you want?"

The machine folded its arms, "We have been watching your previous battles and you show promise." His head swiveled to the destroyed opponent. "Your fighting style is most unique, even among us. We've come to ask if you will join us as a Death Dealer."

Koemai blinked again. _'A Death Dealer?'_ This thought fascinated him even more. These guys were just up his alley. Cold, ruthless, and merciless. But still...

"I have a clan."

Reaper nodded to this, "We know. But aren't you more interested with us? I can promise that your skills will complement us well. You have that look, that instinct. And you know how to deliver death as fate. You will not be able to perfect those skills with Nightwatch."

Koemai was silent. He knew that this clan probably suited him better than Nightwatch, but he couldn't leave his comrades behind. But before he could answer, Reaper continued, "Take your time, but remember. Death waits for no one."

With that, the dark clan took to the night sky and flew off, disappearing into the darkness. Koemai didn't know whether to be interested or afraid. He would like to be among them, but it was too late now. _'I guess they'll have to do without me.'_ But then again, how would they respond to rejection?

_'Death waits for no one.'_

************

When Koemai returned, he saw both Elijah and Cain just below. They were currently discussing something as he parked his AC into the hanger.

"Hey guys. What's up?" he called from above.

Elijah gave a slight wave and answered, "Nothing. I was just telling him of my mission. I was attacked by a new type of MT. Very powerful."

Koemai slid down the railing next to the two, "Oh that was nothing compared to my day." he said with a grin.  "I finished off my opponent in the arena and that's when the Death Dealers appeared to me."

This evoked a surprised look from both Ravens, especially Cain. "What?" Elijah asked. "What did they want?"

"They wanted me to join them." he answered. Shrugging casually, "It's too bad I'm going to have to say no." He suddenly grasped his stomach, "Ugghhhh. Man I'm hungry. Let's go get some chow.

Elijah nodded and the two walked off, missing the fact that Cain was still in the same spot, his face in heavy thought.

_'Koemai.__ You're in bigger trouble than you think.'_


	10. Full Force

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 9

Elijah and Baron rushed into the hanger deck where the others of their clan had gathered together. Everyone, except for Cain.

"You called?" Elijah breathed heavily, tired from running.

"I'm sure you guys are aware of the mission sent out by Mirage." Charles started. "A joint mission specifically asking for a group of Ravens or if possible, a clan."

"Yeah. I heard." Ellie responded. "They're paying 100,000 credits to each Raven that participates."

"Yeah. I tried to accept it, but it was too late." Koemai grumbled.  "Some idiot signed up a clan in full and filled it up."

Charles chuckled a bit, "Yes. That would be me."

"What?! Are you serious?!" Baron shouted.

"Yes. Clan Nightwatch will be the guys for the job."

As the group began to mutter to each other, the final clan member strode into the hanger and approached them.

"Cain. What took you so long?" Diana asked.

"I was...occupied." he answered unsteadily. Quickly, he retorted, "What's the emergency?"

Charles repeated his announcement, "We have a mission. All of us. Mirage is sending us to a facility some distance away from Silent Line owned by Crest."

Diana grumbled, "Figures. Some things never change."

Charles continued, "It was found out that they may have found some valuable information about the city on the other side of Silent Line. However, it hasn't been deciphered yet so that where we are needed." Moving to a nearby monitor, he inserted the information Crest had given him showing schematics of a massive facility.

"I can't stress how heavily guarded this place is. They have security beyond security there. Heavily armed MTs, destroyer level linear cannons, laser systems, the works."

"Destroyer level..? What the hell?" Elijah gasped. Linear cannons were the most powerful single-fire energy weapon around. They were normally used either by Ravens or high level facilities.

Ellie whistled in response to the info. "Whatever they got, it must be major to defend it like that."

"Whatever it is, Crest wants it. And we're going to get it."

"I'm guessing there's a plan involved." Ellie responded.

Charles pressed another button and the schematics of the facility zoomed in.

"We're going to split into two groups. One will distract the bulk of the security while the second group enters in, find the data, and get the hell out of there. Koemai, Baron, Diana and Ellie will be group one."

"We're the decoys?" Diana asked.

Charles nodded, "Yeah. Based on your ACs, you four are the best for the job."

Koemai simply shrugged, "Cool."

Continuing on, "While you four draw away the bulk of their forces, Cain and Elijah will enter in and retrieve the data."

"Wait." Cain said suddenly. "Wouldn't it be better for a single Raven to go inside?"

The dark man shook his head, "No. Although a small group is best, a single Raven would get annihilated." He adjusted his glasses, "Three is the bare minimum and maximum."

"Why us?"

"We don't know what's we're facing in there, so I figure we need to be evened out. Your expertise in close range battle coupled with Elijah's long range abilities may be beneficial for this. And I can add power to the deck."

Cain nodded slightly, "Sounds reasonable."

"But even so, it won't be easy. We don't know the full extent of their security systems. And it is always possible that Crest will send a Raven or two of their own, but that seems unlikely. Crest is very confident in its abilities. That may work to our advantage."

"Perhaps."

Charles narrowed his eyes at his response. Cain was harder for him to decipher due to the fact that he doesn't speak too much or reveal his feelings in his words.

"Of course if any of you wish to decline, say so now." He focused on Cain again, "But our chances of success depend on all of us."

Elijah however interrupted his glance. "Hey, who could say no to 100,000 credits?" he grinned. "Of course we're all in, right guys?"

"Hey, we're just part of the diversion." Baron shrugged. "That's the easy part. It's you three that have to worry."

"Oh, right." Elijah muttered. "Well I'm in either way."

"What about you, Cain?" Koemai and Charles asked at the same time.

Cain blinked at their dual question, but answered, "It's going to be tough."

"Aw, come on. I thought you loved a challenge." Koemai teased.

Cain frowned slightly, "I didn't say that. Yeah I'm in. I'm just saying that it's going to be tough. But our odds of success depend on all of us working together."

Charles gave a small grin at the response, but Koemai blinked suddenly, causing Cain to frown further. _'He's got an idea. Oh no.'_

Right on cue, "Hey Cain. Why not use the Seraphim?"

Cain answered sharply, "No."

This gained the attention of the others, particularly Elijah.

"Seraphim? What's that?"

"It's a system of extra parts that is equipped for our two ACs." Koemai answered quickly. "The core becomes an insanely powerful weapon. You wouldn't believe it." he finished off with a grin.

Elijah frowned and looked at his teacher, "How come I've never heard of it?"

"Because there was no reason to tell you." Glaring at Koemai, "The system still needs to be perfected. And our cores have changed since that time so even if I could work out the problems, I'd still need to re-adjust it."

Koemai saw the hard glare and waved his hand jovially, "Fine, fine. I'll let it go."

"The mission starts in an hour." Charles stated finally. "Be prepared."

******************

_Crest facility, an hour and ten minutes later_

The fortified facility stood silently within the desert landscape. There was no signs of movement or activity of any kind. Even the occasional guard MT was immobile and the cannons were silent. A relatively quiet day...that was about to end.

**KABOOOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!**

The facility suddenly came to life as four machines skimmed over the wasteland. Bloodhand (Koemai), White Wolf (Baron), Phantom (Ellie), and Cloak (Diana) all flew in toward the facility, seeming to fire at random but actually hitting the outer defenses to move in close.

"Alright guys." Baron called from White Wolf. "It's party time."

With that, White Wolf raised both his bazookas and let the massive rounds loose, blowing up a few cannon turrets. The others joined in as they released various rounds of fire and causing a good amount of damage. And just then, the defense system of the plant came to the full, with several dozen MTs coming to live and firing with the remaining cannon turrets opened fire. Now the battle had truly begun and the clan shattered slightly to deal with the fire.

"Alright. Phase one is done." Ellie called, avoiding a round of gunfire. "Proceed with Phase two."

_"Acknowledged."_

_Inside...___

A gun turret on the ceiling blew apart as the three Ravens swooped through the corridor, heading for their target. The attack from the first group drew the majority of the outside forces away, allowing them to enter in more easily.

"Alright. We have to go through this area and down the corridor here.  That's where the data is stored."

Elijah checked his radar, "A slight problem. That room is locked off."

Cain checked his as well, "He's right. It's locked off at three points. We'll have to split up and disable them before we can reach our objective."

"Fine then." Charles commented. "We'll split up and meet back here when we're done. But we have to move fast. Who knows how long the others could hold him off."

With that, the three Ravens split off. But in the skies overhead, a carrier dropped a dark object onto the top of the plant. The figure entered a hatch and dove in, moving in on its target.

_Or rather, targets..._


	11. Infiltration

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 10

The gates doors slowly opened and the white AC Glaive stalked in, searching for the gate lock mechanism. So far, no serious threats opposed him, but the day was still young. Glaive found himself in a wide open room. Various generators hummed around him, beating power into the facility.

_'This is too easy.'_

The second the gate behind him closed, hinges opened up from the ceiling and energy cannons opened fire.

_'Figures.'___

Glaive dashed off to the side, firing a grenade blast during his escape and destroying one of the cannons. But there were more to deal with and they all rotated around to continue firing. Glaive fired another blast and again, one of the cannons exploded. Glaive then slid behind one of the generators in order to regain his bearings. But from behind the generator, another couple of cannons opened up and locked onto him.

_'Here we go.'_

***********

A narrow chamber full of guard MTs sat still in wait for whatever target come through those gates. Their sensors picked up motion on the other side and the computer-controlled machines moved into position. The gates slowly opened and a stream of fire emerged. Two of the MTs were shredded by the machine fire and promptly exploded. A dark machine swooped in and blazed through them with machine guns.

"Hey guys. Now serving bullet supreme special!"

The bullets flew throughout the corridor, each one hitting a target or two. Havoc waved his arms side to side, dishing out further damage to the seriously outgunned MTs. In a matter of moments, the MTs were all cinders.

"Now where..."

But when Havoc reached the center of the corridor, smaller gates opened on the sides and more MTs emerged, more heavily armored than the first. Havoc was now surrounded.

"Aw sh..."

***********

The four Ravens outside were in trouble. The linear cannons were now on-line and firing at them with repeated tremendous force. It was as though the Ravens were being attacked by a thunderstorm. The four were forced to scatter over the battlefield, but they didn't leave.

"Anyone got any bright ideas?" Baron called from White Wolf.

"We have to take out those cannons." Koemai shouted after avoiding a blast of energy.

"How?" Ellie questioned from Phantom. "We can't even get close."

"We need a diversion."

Yeah, sure." Diana grumbled after destroying an MT that got too close and dodging an energy wave at the same time. "Any volunteers?"

The four managed to swoop around and meet together behind a rocky mound.

"I'll do it." Phantom proclaimed.

Koemai disagreed, "No. You're needed to take out the cannons. With your stealth, you should have far less problems reaching them." Turning to Cloak, "Diana, you better go too. You got the fastest AC out of all of us."

"So in other words, ladies first."

The mound suddenly exploded and the four were forced to scatter again.

"I'm listening if you have any better ideas!" Koemai yelled.

Diana sulked to herself and then moved Cloak alongside Phantom, "Let's get going."

The two Raven split off to the side while White Wolf and Bloodhand remained together.

"Alright, so how shall we do this?"

Koemai grinned, "The same way we do everything." Bloodhand cocked his gun.

"Brutally!!!"

The two ACs shot forward in attack...

***********

Havoc continued on through the next gate, with a smoking pile of debris behind him from the fight with the MTs. Though they were far weaker than him, the numbers made up for a grueling fight. It took his some time to destroy them all while reserving most of his ammo. He had to mostly stick with using his EOs, but even so, he occasionally fought with his two machine guns. He was glad to keep most of his ammo in tact, especially considering the odds. Anyway, he entered into the chamber and found the key lock he had been searching for. He interlocked his AC with it and began tapping a few buttons. A moment later, he received the signal that the lock was opened. His job now complete, he turned around to the gate, only to see that it closed again. _I hate when these things do that. _The gate opened once more, only for a shocking surprise on the other side. MTs had now flooded the corridor once again and they all circled around and targeted him.

"Damn!" he swore as he backed away behind the gate door as the MTs fired at him. Elijah frowned. There were twice as many as there were last time. And he didn't have the energy to destroy them with the EOs. _Guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way._ Havoc raised his machine guns, twirled around the corner, and unloaded a full stream of bullets down the corridor, decimating his targets.

"Eat hot guchi, pal!"

The bullet riddled through all the MTs, shredding some and bashing down others. The MTs fired back, but Havoc evaded most of their fire and continued the assault. Elijah kept a watch on his ammo reserves, hoping that he could get rid of them before he ran too low. To help out, Elijah activated his EOs once they reach max ammo and let them clean up the rest. Now the corridor was full of more burnt debris and shattered machinery. Havoc moved through to the other end, but as the exit gate opened, more sounds clicked behind him and Havoc turned to see more MTs emerging from the side.

"No way!"

Havoc soared through the now opened gate as the MTs fired at him from behind. Luckily, they didn't follow and the gate doors had closed behind him. But his AP was now on 3197. Not too low, but he'd have to be careful now. Havoc continued to fly through until he reached the rendezvous point where Glaive and Professional awaited him.

"Don't even think about asking." Elijah growled.

"We weren't." Charles commented from Professional. "This place is a lot of trouble."

Glaive didn't respond and Elijah saw that the white machine had a good deal of damage.

"What happened...?"

"I didn't ask you, so don't ask me." Cain grumbled lowly, cutting him off.

Elijah nodded and then, "Well what are we waiting for?"

Charles nodded, "Right. We have a mission to complete."

The three ACs turned to the main corridor and soared through to the massive gate. It opened and revealed a massive chamber which stretched high over their head and was incredibly wide as well. However, there seemed to be no sort of defenses there. Not even a cannon turret.

"I don't like this." Cain said. "This is too easy."

Professional turned to him, "Perhaps the defense here was diverted to the others outside." But even as he said that, he didn't agree. Nevertheless, "We better just consider ourselves lucky."

The three continued on and entered the gate at the far end. The doors opened slowly to reveal a computer terminal on the other end. Professional walked up to it and interlocked with the terminal, accessing for the specific data. Finally...

"Got it."

"Mission complete." Elijah said. "Now let's get the hell out of here."

The three ACs moved in unison and soared down the chamber in order to reach the exit they had come from. But upon reaching the gate ahead, it automatically opened to reveal another AC. _A black AC._

"Another Raven!"

Havoc began to raise his gun, but was stopped by Glaive.

"Don't."

Havoc and Professional both turned to him. "What are you doing?"

Glaive continued to stare at the dark AC, who hadn't moved from the doorway. "He won't attack you as long as you don't attack him. Both of you better take the other exit now."

Professional looked at the dark Raven and then back, "What about you?"

"Leave me." He quickly added. "No arguments. Just go. Hurry before he changes his mind."

Elijah yelled from his machine, "I'm not going to leave you here alone. I'll help you fight..."

_Shhrrraannnggggggg__!!!!!!!!_

Havoc soon found himself facing the white-blue energy of the Moonlight blade.

"Go!"

Elijah hesitated, but that when Professional moved up in front of his screen. "Let's go. He's making sure we escape. Come on."

Professional zoomed away toward the exit, slowly followed by Havoc. With them gone, Glaive was left alone with the black AC, who stalked into the room. The dark machine arched its arms slightly and a pair of violet energy blades emerged, each one curved like a deadly scythe. Glaive positioned his own blade forward.

"Reaper..."

_"Glaive..."_

*************

Outside, White Wolf and Bloodhand were still diverting the majority of the attacks to themselves while Cloak and Phantom closed in silently. The two Ravens were dishing out pretty good damage to the compound, but the linear cannons posed a continual threat as the white beams of energy literally laid waste to the landscape in order to destroy them.

"This is ridiculous!" Baron yelled from White Wolf. His machine narrowly escaped one of the blasts, but his right arm bazooka was totally destroyed.

"How long is it going to take those two?"

Right on cue, one of the cannons exploded. Both ACs looked as Phantom flew away from the exploding cannon. A minute later, a second cannon exploded, with Cloak moving away from it as well. Just then, a beep came in over their consoles, signaling the exit of the others.

"Alright guys." Koemai called. "Mission complete. Let's get out of here."

The four Ravens retreated back and flew away, unaware that one of their clan was still inside...alone.


	12. Lost Raven

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 11

**Pow****!**

Charles reeled back from the angry blow of Koemai. The others got in between him and restrained him while he struggled against them.

"Koemai!" Diana cried as she held his arm. "Calm down!"

"Hell no! You left him behind?!" he roared to Charles.

Charles rubbed his cheek, "Koemai calm down and listen. He told us to leave him. Just listen. We where on our way out when we encountered another Raven. Cain told us to leave him behind so that he could handle it." He then repeated, "He wanted us to leave."

Koemai growled a little more before he stopped struggling against the others, "That...does sound like him...I guess."

The Ravens now relaxed, seeing that their comrade had calmed down. Silence overcame them for a while and then Elijah decided to speak.

"What now?"

"What do you mean?" Baron asked.

Elijah turned and gave him a strange look, "What do I mean? Don't we go back for him or something?"

"Go back? There? That's insane."

Elijah fumed, "Are you saying we should leave him behind? I won't do that!"

"You want us to go back to that facility after the attack we launched?" Charles reasoned.  "Their security would be at its maximum now. We wouldn't even get close."

Elijah clenched his fist, "Fine then. I'll go myself."

The others blinked in shock and surprise while Charles shot at him. "Listen to yourself. You're not thinking straight. Going in after him is suicide." He stopped for a moment and lowered his voice. "Besides, even by some insane miracle you do make it in, there's no guarantee that he's there or if he's even alive."

"What?!"

"Elijah. As much as I hate to admit it, he's right." spoke Ellie. "Cain is a Raven. He knew the risks."

Elijah's face grew hot with frustration, "Are you saying we should just...give up on him?"

Diana shook her head, "No. Cain can take care of himself. If anyone can get out of there, he can."

Elijah looked at them all. Baron was looking away, Diana, Ellie, and Koemai were all looking down and Charles simply looked at him. He knew they were right, but right now he didn't care. But despite this, it was still suicide. It was the only thought that kept him from jumping into Havoc and flying off. And...it may have been possible that... Not wanting to think about it, Elijah walked away and left the others behind.

***********

_Nightfall..._

Elijah lay in his room with his eyes staring straight toward the ceiling. He hadn't blinked or moved for a whole half an hour. After finishing counting the tiles on the ceiling, Elijah sat up and sighed quietly. He then roused himself to his feet and picked up his jumpsuit uniform. He held it for a while and then proceeded to fit in on himself. Later, he emerged from his apartment room and activated the starting systems of his AC. The lights shone around it and various hissing sounds could be heard. Elijah quickly moved up the ladder and to his machine, but as soon as he reached the top, another figure stood in his path.

"I'd figured you'd try something like this kid."

Elijah frowned and brushed past Koemai, "Don't try to stop me."

Elijah began opening the cockpit, but Koemai turned around to him.

"Elijah..."

_Click..._

Suddenly in a blur of motion, Elijah had whipped out a gun from his back and pointed it right at Koemai's head. Koemai was surprised.

"A gun?"

"I pilot a thousand ton weapon." Elijah explained dangerously as he cocked the trigger. "This...is minimal."

Koemai seemed to frown for a second and then he began to turn around, "Well, let's get going."

Elijah blinked, "Huh?"

Seeing the brief distraction, Koemai quickly raised his arm to show...his own gun. Now both Ravens were both at gunpoint with each other.

"I'm not going to leave him behind there either. But if you want to do this, you follow my lead and do what I say." He moved the gun away.

"You may just come out alive."

Elijah growled, but realized that Koemai wasn't going to let him go with this. What did it matter anyway? They both had the same mission so there shouldn't be a problem.

"Fine."

*********

_Two hours later..._

The two ACs, Havoc and Bloodhand, stalked over the wasteland terrain toward the facility they head attacked the day before. Because it wasn't an official mission, they didn't have the luxury of a carrier to drop them off and pick them up. So they had to fly over the entire terrain on booster power. During this time, Koemai explained the plan.

"Scouting?"

"It's the best thing to do." Koemai continued. "If we are to find out if he escaped or not, we have to investigate, not attack." 

Elijah snorted and Koemai smiled, "Yeah I know. It's boring as hell. Unfortunately, its the only way. If we're lucky, we won't be spotted."

The two machines finally reached the outer perimeter of the facility. Using the head radar system, they scan the area as far as they could. From what it showed, the damage that had been caused by their attack was nearly repaired and there were now active patrols. After a few minutes of scanning, they found nothing that would indicate that Glaive had escaped or otherwise.

"This may take awhile." Koemai muttered. "Let's split up and circle around. But remember; do no go any closer than..."

Suddenly, a white energy beam shone in the distance. The two Ravens saw it come straight at them and dodged to the side. The beam hit and shattered the ground they were once standing on. The facility lit up with activity all at once.

"So much for that idea."

Bullets flew at them as well, causing them to dodge further. Elijah noticed the strength of the gun. 'These are way too weak to be fired from there. Wait.'

Elijah switched the radar functions to include stealth and he spotted what he figured out.

"Bloodhand..."

Koemai responded before he could finish, "Yeah I know. Stealth MTs."

Bloodhand raised his machine gun along with Havoc and they both fired them manically at the invisible enemies. Because of Havoc's stealth radar, Elijah scored me shots and destroyed more MTs than Koemai. However, Koemai wasn't completely helpless since he knew that they could be seen when they fire. Against the two Ravens, the MT's didn't stand a chance even with the linear cannons backing them up. Soon they were destroyed and the linear cannons stopped.

"What the heck?" Elijah asked. Koemai was equally confused, but he knew that something bad was going to happen.

"Watch yourself, kid."

Then it showed up. An object emerged from the distance and came right toward them. As it closed in, marking of white appeared on it and for a moment, the two thought they had found Glaive.

"Alright. Mission a..."

The object came closer still and it was clearly not Glaive or even and AC. Given the design, it was definitely an MT, but unlike any MT Koemai had seen.

"Hey!" Elijah exclaimed. "That the same MT I fought before."

Koemai frowned and shot toward the MT in attack, "Stay back. I got this."

"Koemai, be careful."

Koemai didn't respond and set the machine gun to fire. The white machine flew up out of the line of fire and launched two missiles. Bloodhand swooped off to the side, but the missiles hit him. But they weren't too damaging.

"Hey, I just paid for this paintjob."

Bloodhand lowered his machine gun and unlocked his back chain gun. Due to the Op-Intensify optional part that was active within, Bloodhand was still able to move as the chain gun fired powerful rounds of ammo. The MT took the damage, but wasn't slowed for a second. Instead, it raised its arm and fired a concussive grenade blast. The blast nearly hit Bloodhand and caused him to skid across the ground. Another grenade flashed forth and again Bloodhand dodged it. But the blast hit his gun and it exploded into bits.

"Hang on!" Elijah called.

"Stay back! I'll handle this!" Looking back at the MT, he discarded his broken machine gun. "So you like using grenades, huh?" The chain gun folded and a long grenade launcher on the opposite shoulder. Bloodhand flew up into the air as the MT landed on the ground and targeted up at him.

"Then you'll love this!"

Bloodhand fired a powerful grenade round. The MT fired at the same time and the two fiery blasts exploded brightly. When the light cleared, Bloodhand was gone from the sky. With his targets destroyed, the MT turned its attention to Havoc who readied his machine guns. However a sudden whirling sound was soon heard and the MT turned around.

"Here I come!"

Then with a cry, Bloodhand's OB boosters flare to life and the dark machine sped toward the MT. The MT settled to the ground and unfolded his arm cannon. Energy sparkled and suddenly fired.

"Bloodhand, look out!"

Koemai grinned within the mecha and suddenly he cut the OB and used his normal boosters to propel him into the air, causing the energy blasts to screech underneath him harmlessly. The momentum of the OB was still causing him to fly forward and soon enough, Bloodhand was about to collide with the MT. But the left arm reared back and a thick looking orange blade emerged. The blade shot forward and it sliced off most of the MT's left side. Bloodhand skidded on the ground as the damaged machine sparked and struggled to turn. But Koemai didn't give it the chance as she turned as well and locked his grenade launcher on the target.

"Give my regards to the reaper...in hell!!!!!"

**BOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!**

The grenade fired once again and exploded on the damaged MT, blowing it up totally. Havoc flew next to his dark partner.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Looking in the distance though, he could see the numerous objects approaching them. More MTs.

"But this mission is over. Let's get out of here."

Elijah blinked in surprise and began to yell, "But we haven't..."

"And we never will now." Koemai shot back, cutting him off. He hated to leave now. He still had to find his comrade. But he knew that at this rate, they would get nothing done but their own destruction. _'Cain...Be alive.'_

"Let's go."

********

_Early morning..._

Koemai walked through the garage and toward Elijah's room. The door was partially opened so Koemai let himself in. There, Elijah stood motionlessly by the window.

"You okay?"

"What do you think?" Elijah growled back.

Koemai waved it off, "Yeah, yeah. Stupid question."

He stood by the window, opposite of Elijah and simply watched and waited for the younger Raven to begin talking.

"Do you think...?" Elijah whispered, unable to finish.

Koemai picked up where he left off though, "That he's alive? Sure. He may be a stiff blockhead, but he knows how to survive."

Elijah gave a short laugh, "I will survive."

"Hm?"

"He always says that. I just thought that it was just some stupid catch-phrase or something. But I guess he is strong enough." His eyes lowered, "I just wish I could...see his strength."

Koemai nodded and was about to say something else when a sudden vibration and noise caught their attention.

"Huh? What the..."

The two of them exited the room and looked out toward the hanger. There, walking in at the far end was...

"It's Glaive!"

Or at least what was left of it. The white machine was completely totaled. Various points of armor were ripped up all over and sparks shot out in numerous areas. The white paint was now a dull grey, spotted by even darker mark that looked like burns. The right arm was missing while the left was heavily damaged, leaving a near skeleton metal arm which still held the moonlight. It was a miracle that it walked in and managed to dock without falling to pieces. As it docked, the two Ravens rushed over and up the docking port toward the cockpit. As they did, Koemai saw the damage. Though some of it seemed to have been caused by explosive weaponry, the majority of the damage was serrated slices and cuts. _'An energy blade.__ But what blade makes marks like this?'_

Meanwhile, Elijah had made it to the cockpit and he used the outside emergency handle to open it. Peering in, Elijah gasped and backed out. Just them, Koemai caught up with him.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

Elijah merely pointed inside and Koemai looked in as well. A gasp escaped his lips as well.

"Oh sh%^!"

Cain was just as beaten as his machine, if not more. Koemai couldn't see the extent of the damage, but Cain had numerous slashes on his face and body. Blood was seeping out everywhere and had masked his face in crimson. Yet Cain managed to flicker a single eye open just to show that he was still alive. Koemai quickly backed out and turned to Elijah.

"Get the paramedics here now!"


	13. Story of the Reaper

Disclaimer: See chapter one

AN: Sorry if it's a little short, but I'll work on it.

Chap. 12

_Hospital..._

It has been three days since Cain returned badly injured. Surprisingly enough, the wounds weren't too bad and he began to recover quickly. Elijah was glad to see his mentor recovering, but still felt bad about leaving him. He walked down the hall toward his room and entered inside. Cain was sitting near one of the windows and looking outside. His body was still bandaged, but none of that seemed to affect his current pose.

"How are you?"

Cain turned his head slightly, "I've been better."

From behind Elijah, Koemai strolled into the room as well, "Hey, Cain. Slacking off on the job I see."

"Funny." was the emotionless reply.

Elijah moved closer to Cain and softly spoke, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I told you to leave and you did." He turned fully to his student and fellow Raven, "It wouldn't have done any good to come back for me anyway.

"Uhhh...I guess."

Koemai decided to break up the tense moment, "So what happened to you? Who were you fighting?"

Cain sighed and turned his head back to the window. "His name is Bane. He pilots the AC Reaper, a dark machine that personifies death."

"Sounds like my kind of guy." Koemai joked.

However, Cain wasn't laughing, "I wouldn't say that. He's really good. Anyone that faces him, anyone that's so much as unfortunate to get caught in his crosshairs, meets a final end."

"You're kidding." Elijah exclaimed. "He's not that tough."

"No, he's worse." he replied lowly. "The machine he's in uses custom enhanced dual laser scythes."

Elijah blinked in surprise, "Scythes? Are you serious?"

"This is the second time we fought like this." he said darkly.

"Wait a second." Koemai started again. "If he's so good, then how come you're still breathing?"

"Strength of a survivor, I supposed." Cain chuckled briefly to himself. "Considering my current injuries, I got off pretty easy."

"Easy?" Elijah exclaimed again. "What have you been smoking? When we found you, you were practically swimming in your own blood."

Cain looked at the two once again and silently stood up from his bed. He slowly removed his robe and began to take off the bandages. His scars gleamed angrily and it looked at though he would bleed again. When he took off enough, he turned his back to them. Both Ravens gasped at what they saw. Amid the tender scars on his back was a gigantic gash that ripped down across his back like thick lightning. Koemai was especially surprised. _'He never had a scar like that before.'_

"I first encountered him during a mission a year ago." Cain said. "I didn't know anything about him or his AC. If you think what you saw when you opened my cockpit was bad, imagine what it was like to be impaled by damage from your own machine after being sliced apart by this guy. I was in the hospital for two and a half months. The doctors thought that I either should have died or crippled. This scar is a reminder of that battle."

"Geez..."

Cain continued as he began to replace his bandages, "I met Bane later on after he found out I survived. He didn't say anything, but I knew what he was thinking. What kind of person was I to defy death? Since then, we've met each other randomly."

"What?"

"There nothing to worry about. He'll only try to kill me when we're in ACs. He tried again and I survived again." Cain chuckled again, "He must be really steamed now."

Koemai was bewildered at his friend's obvious humor to several near death. Shrugging himself, he decided to take the same approach, "If this guy wasn't trying to kill you, we'd probably make good friends."

"Probably." Cain then asked seriously, "What about the mission?"

"We pulled it off." Koemai answered. "Charles delivered the goods and we got paid quite a bit. In fact, I still have your cut right here."

Koemai reached into his pocket and pulled out a credit pad. He then tossed it over to Cain who caught it in the air, not without wincing from the pain of course.

"Thanks." he muttered. "I'll need it." He began to access the pad, "After the damage I took in that fight, I'm guessing Glaive must be pretty wrecked."

Elijah rolled his eyes in amusement, "That's the understatement of the decade. The grenade launcher was totaled and various joints and circuits were either shredded or fried. In a nutshell, it looks like it's been through a grinder."

"Hmph. I see."

Koemai waved lightly, "Hey don't worry. You have more than enough money for repairs."

"No I don't." was the quiet response.

Koemai blinked, "Huh? What are you talking about?" He looked at the pad's accounts. "This is enough to make a whole new core."

Cain simply stared outside and Koemai noticed a dark mood within his friend. But it quickly faded away.

"...Nothing. I'll just have to repair it myself."

"Are you...?" He then stopped himself and sighed, "You just have to do things the hard way, huh?"

_Beep, beep._

Elijah pulled out his minipad and checked it. "Hey, I got a message. I'm being challenged to an arena battle."

Cain looked over at him, "Are you going to accept?"

Elijah grinned, "Am I not the hand of salvation? I'll show him the way to oblivion."

"That's right." Koemai grinned as well.

Cain shook his head, "You've been hanging around Koemai too much."

=================

_Arena..._

Havoc stepped out from the metal doors and into the wide arena. This was his favorite stage to fight in. It was open area sealed in a dome. He could move around without having to worry about being disqualified about going outside the boundaries. And there were no obstacles to block his fire. As he thought about these things, he looked at his opponent. It was a yellow mid-heavyweight AC. It was armed with a high powered rifle in the right hand, a grenade launcher in the left, and a chain gun and an orbiter on the back. The pilot spoke over the comm to Elijah.

"You are Havoc. Hmm. Good speed, balanced defense, high ammo. But your weaknesses are well known to me as well."

Elijah narrowed his eyes, "And you are Chain Impact. You don't look like much yourself."

"Believe me, I am more than enough to deal with you." The machine bent down and the boosters began to flare. "Now let's begin."

Elijah activated his own boosters and Havoc propelled forward into battle. While this occurred, Koemai and Cain were watching the battle from the monitors.

_'Elijah. Be careful.'_


	14. Metal Gear

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 13

The battle began with Havoc zooming forward with a torrent of gunfire. At the same time, Chain Impact dashed off to the side, completely avoiding the weapon's fire. Havoc continued the assault, pouring it on. But Chain Impact wasn't hit with a single bullet.

_'Why can't I hit you?'_

As if he heard his thoughts, the pilot in the opposing machine answered, "Your machine is too slow. And you firing timing is sloppy at best. You couldn't hit me even if you tried. Oh wait, you are trying."

This elicited a growl from Elijah, "Oh yeah? Well try this!"

Havoc boosted into the air and fired with both machine guns. Chain Impact shot back once again, but when Havoc landed, Elijah activated his EO system. The orbiter unlocked and was about to fire when it was suddenly blasted away.

_'What?!'___

A puff of smoke came out of the rifle Chain Impact was holding. Elijah was shocked. He shot off my EO...before it even fired.

"I've studied your previous bouts. I know you use your EO to get you out of tough situations. Unfortunately, you won't have it here to bail you out."

Elijah frowned more, but shook off his anger. _'Okay. I have to stay focused. I can still take him out.'_

A weapon on the back of Chain Impact shifted and fired out a group of orbs. They circled around Havoc and began firing.

"Crap. Orbiters!"

Havoc boost back and sideways, trying to outrun the attacking spheres. But his attention was off of Chain Impact long enough for him to raise his grenade launcher. But he didn't fire immediately. Rather, he waited until Havoc flew of in a certain area before he fired. The rounds seem to fly off in an empty area, but Havoc moved right into the path and was blasted in the right arm.

"Ahhhh!!!!!"

Havoc turned to shoot back, but found that the machine gun had been blasted away. Havoc looked at his opponent coming at him and quickly fired his left machine gun, but Chain Impact used his rifle and blasted off the other gun in one precise shot. Havoc was now defenseless.

"Now it's over."

Chain Impact unlocked his favored weapon, the back-mountain chain gun. Havoc dashed away, refusing to give up. But it made no difference as Chain Impact unloaded on Havoc, shredding the machine and causing it to explode and fall. Chain Impact stood over him, the gun positioned on the head.

"It was over before it started. Go back under the rock you belong."

===========================

_Medical Ward_

"Rahhhh!!!"

After the battle, Elijah was taken to the emergency ward to treat his injuries. Fortunately, they weren't bad; the worse being a scrape on the arm. But his AC was another story. The damage to Havoc was quite bad. It had seemed that all the vital parts were damaged severely and precisely. Needless to say, Elijah decided to take out his frustration on the wall.

"Don't be upset." Koemai said after he hit the wall for the fifth time. "It happens to all of us."

"No! It not just that he beat me." Elijah explained. "He didn't even look like he was trying. I couldn't touch him. Arrrhhhh!!!!"

Another punch into the wall, making it six times now. Cain moved up beside him, albeit unsteadily due to his own injuries.

"Calm down. Remember what I told you about situations like this. There's always someone stronger that you."

"That does help much." he growled back.

Cain shrugged lightly, "Well, how about this? Be glad that you're alive. Most Ravens aren't satisfied until their opponents are beaten half to death."

Koemai stood up from his chair, "Speaking of which, I've done a little checking on...what's with that look?"

Cain was giving him a very peculiar gaze and Koemai didn't know why.

"You do research?"

Koemai blinked a shot back, "Of course I do...occasionally." Shaking his head, "Anyway, that guy, Chain Impact. He's from the Metal Gear clan."

"Metal Gear? It figures."

The Metal Gear clan was a group that prided themselves on AC strategies and battle. Their battle tactics were nearly flawless and they always planned ahead before they did anything. It was this ability that made them a formidable clan indeed.

"They're a bunch of brainiacs, that's what."

Cain strode toward the window thoughtfully and looked back at Elijah, "Chain Impact must have studied your core in and out if he was to beat you that way."

"I don't care." Elijah proclaimed. "Next time, I'm going to beat him."

He was about to hit the wall again when a voice interrupted him.

"That might be sooner than you think."

The speaker was Diana, and at her words, the others gasped.

"What?"

===================

"A challenge?"

The group had come together once again in the AC docking area. Elijah was still sore from his battle, but managed to make his way there. Cain too was also there and in a greater deal of pain. But he did well to mask it.

"That's right." Charles nodded. "Metal Gear has challenged the entire clan."

"For what reason?" Ellie questioned.

Charles folded his arms and looked at Elijah, "After Chain Impact defeated Havoc, they must have figured that we were pushovers and want to show their dominance over us."

"Well that's just great." Elijah growled aloud. "If they want us, they got us!""

"You're forgetting something." Baron replied. "We're short two ACs."

Koemai nodded in sullen agreement, "That's right. Havoc's been damaged and Glaive is still heavily under repairs."

"And the challenge must be accepted by tomorrow." Diana added.

"Well, given the circumstances, we'll have to forgo the battle." Charles replied. "We simply can't fight shorthanded."

"That may not be a problem."

The group turned to look at their normally silent member.

"All you need are two AC's, right?"

"Right." Baron answered. But then he shook his head, "We can't for outside help, if that's what you're thinking."

"I know. But that's not what I was thinking." Cain replied. He then slowly arose from his seat and began to move toward the hanger, "Come with me."

The group gave puzzled looked between themselves, but stood up and followed him. Cain led them to the area where his AC was stationed. It was still pretty battered from his fight with Reaper, but in better shape than before. He then moved off to the side and toward a standing terminal where he began to press some buttons. Koemai stood on his side with a slight grin.

"Are you going to...?"

"No, Koemai." Cain cut him off, knowing exactly what he was going to ask. "You're not going to use Seraphim. But I have another idea."

Cain continued to type and then a screen came up, asking for a passcode. Cain then typed it in.

_AIsys__: GBI-001_

_AIsys__: GBI-002_

The floor rumbled and the group lowered down into the floor. After a few minutes, they reached an underground chamber where there were no lights. Cain moved toward it and activated them, revealing…

"AIs."

The group gasped as they saw two ACs stationed before them. "What are those?"

Cain semi-staggered forward and raised his hand to 'introduce' them. "These are two AI's AC's I've been working on. Obelisk and Slifer."

The two machines seemed to hulk over the group. Obelisk was a blue heavyweight AC, armed with two grenade launchers on its arms and on its back as well as shielding on the shoulders. Slifer was a lighter, hover-type AC, cloaked in deep red. In place of it arms were dual grenade launchers and its back had dual missile launchers. The shoulders sported missile extensions as well and the core was an EO type.

"They look powerful." Ellie muttered.

Cain nodded, "Well, the weaponry is powerful, but the AIs are the key. I've already downloaded my data into Slifer, but I'll need another in Obelisk." Looking at his apprentice, "That would be you, Elijah."

"You mean this machine will use my data as if I was piloting it?" Looking up, he grinned, "Alright."

Koemai shook his head in wonder, "One day, I'm going to find out how you pull all this off." His eyes then caught sight of another form in the back. It was hidden deep in shadow so he couldn't make it out. But it was an AC as well.

"What about that one in the back?"

Cain looked in the direction and instantly waved his hands, "No, no, no. That one…still needs work."

Koemai frowned a bit while Elijah stood up before Obelisk, "That doesn't matter. This guy here looks like he can take out a Corporation." He cracked his knuckles, "I'm going to enjoy this."

Cain turned to him, "Not so fast. You'll have to go through the simulator in order for Obelisk to even understand you. And since its tomorrow, you're going to be in there for a good long while."

"I don't care. Just as long as I can get back at that Chain Impact."

Charles nodded at the new development and addressed them, "Then we accept the challenge."

====================

_Clan Metal Gear- Chain Impact, Sever, Random, Owl's Eye, Jester, __Stonehenge__, Wavelength_

_A powerful Raven clan.__ This group is considered the 'think tank' of the clans due to their intense use of battle strategies. Often thinking ahead in their battles, their plans are top notch and they are often called for missions, either separately or in groups._

_Motto- "The first step in avoiding a trap is knowing of its existence."_

_Arena, Wasteland_

The seven machines of Metal Gear stood stationed, waiting for their opponents to arrive. They had been watching and studying each of Nightwatch's core and pilot profiles. Cloak would rely on her speed and agility. Random's multiple weapon system would put her down. Phantom has her stealth, but her armor is low. Jester will defeat her with his anti stealth systems and double bazookas. White Wolf was their heavyweight, but Stonehenge had more armor and weaponry. This, plus its OB core system would demolish White Wolf. Bloodhand was designed like Havoc, but stronger and with a more experienced pilot. But he had a tendency of losing it. Owl's Eye cool approach would wear him down and leave him open to attack. Professional would be the toughest. The pilot and AC was well balanced. Once the others were dealt with, then he would be outnumbered and outmatched. Wavelength will make sure of that. Havoc had already been defeated soundly by Chain Impact. At this point, his AC will be at less than 100% and defeated even quicker. That left Glaive, whose machine was designed for close range battle. But given the damage it sustained from a previous battle, it will be the easiest to deal with. Sever will be the one to do it.

The plans were laid out and the call came that Nightwatch had arrive in the battle field. The signal to go came and all seven split up to take on their perspective opponents. Five of the group found who they were targeting and attacked according to plan. But it was Sever and Chain Impact that found trouble, mostly because they weren't facing the opponents they planned on.

"This is not Glaive!"

Sever was trying to get a handle on the speed of Slifer. But the machine seemed to move everywhere at once. The pilot was beginning to become frustrated and fired the missiles it had. Slifer stood still briefly, letting the missiles come in close. Suddenly, Slifer moved off to the side and the missile flew by harmlessly. Slifer then reared its dual back missile and let it loose in addition to its extensions. The end result was that the sky was filled with streaming projectiles, all flying in on him. Sever activated its shield, but the fire was intense and the shield was destroyed. The machine seemed to stagger and he began to look for his opponent, only to find it coming at him and unlocking the dual option on its grenade arms.

**BOOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!**

_Meanwhile..._

"What the hell?!"

Chain Impact was currently weaving across the desert land, trying desperately to avoid the awesome firepower of Obelisk. Not only was Obelisk equipped with powerful grenades, but it also had a powerful energy EO. To top it off, the grenade had been set up to fire consecutive blast, each behind the other. Chain Impact had fired everything it could, but none of the attacks seem to slow down the blue behemoth.

"This isn't according to plan. It's like I'm fighting some sort of god!"

Chain Impact raised it left arm to fire the grenade launcher, but Obelisk locked on faster and fired from its back and left arm all at once. The triple grenade blasts bore down of Chain Impact and floored it. The heat from the attacks was too much and the damage was easily evident.

"Come on! Move! Work!"

That was the last thing he said before Obelisk finished him off in a torrent of explosive fire.

**BOOOSSSSHHHHH!!!!!!!!BOOOOOSSSHHHHHH!!!!!!!!BOOOOSSSHHHHH!!!!!!!!**

The clan battle continued. The two AIs performed flawlessly and finished their opponents within a matter of seconds using the battle data of the two Ravens. That was enough for them to fly out to engage the others. Together, the two managed to help lay waste to Stonehenge and Random before running out of ammo. But by that time, the others had gained a foothold and defeated the final members. Professional stood over the last AC defeated, Wavelength.

"You let them all know. Nightwatch is not a force to be trifled with. If you challenge us, we will come. If that happens, you better give it all you've got, because I can promise you that we'll do the same. Let this be an example of our might."

The seven ACs moved away, leaving behind the sheer destruction they caused...


	15. The Winged Dragon

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Chap. 14

"Hey guys. Did you see that battle?"

Koemai had just returned to the dorm rooms after the battle with Metal Gear. Cain was sitting in a single seat in front of a monitor screen when Koemai entered.

"Yeah. Well, I did. Elijah…well, see for yourself."

Indicating to the nearby couch, Cain showed him Elijah's sleeping body.

"He's been asleep all day."

Koemai gave a bemused expression, "What'd you do to him? Put him through hell?"

Cain shrugged, "Data recording for Obelisk. He spent the whole night recording and downloading his data. He passed out as soon as he got out of the simulator."

"Obviously."

At that moment, Elijah began to stir from his sleep and his eyes slowly opened. Seeing Koemai, he yawned, "Uhhh…Oh, you're back… He yawned again and slowly stood up, stretching along the way. "How'd it go?"

"You should have seen it." Koemai replied happily. "Those AIs were destructive, like gods of some sort."

"Don't worry." Cain added. "I recorded the battle for you to watch." Focusing on Koemai, "Our credits."

Koemai blinked at his shift of behavior, but let it drop and pulled out the credits, "Okayyy. Here."

Koemai handed him his pad and then tossed Elijah his. Elijah looked it over and nodded, pleased at the amount.

"Hey, not bad at all." He remarked. "Perhaps we should let our AIs fight in our place more often, eh?"

"Unlikely." Cain replied as he pocketed his credits. The AI systems are difficult to maintain, plus the weaponry is costly. And I don't have the credits for it right now."

Koemai blinked again, "Huh? But those credits…"

"…Are not enough." Cain cut off and finished. Grabbing his coat, he limped slightly to the exit. "Excuse me."

The two remaining Ravens watched their comrade go, but not without a serious line of confusion on their faces.

"Not enough?" Koemai exclaimed. "What the heck? First his AC and now this? What does he do with his credits?"

Elijah shrugged, "Hey, it doesn't matter. I feel good." Stretching his arms, "In fact, I better check up on Havoc. It should be finished by now."

_Later…___

Elijah walked into the massive where which housed his AC. The repairs that it had suffered from his last battle had all, but disappeared for the most part. The only visible damage was a scorching mark that was on the right arm. Moving to his computer terminal, he checked up on the AC's status.

_AC overall repair- 95.50%_

_'95 percent.__ Alright. It won't be long now.'_ However, as he continued to gaze at his machine, a new thought popped into his head. Looking down at the terminal, he accessed his inventory. Some time back, he won a few new weapons and parts from his arena battles. Checking them over, he found something that could work.

_'This will be good.'_

Entering his choice, he pressed a key and looked up. A slight rumble could be heard as the extra ammunition unit on the back of Havoc was removed and replaced with something far different. It was another dual back unit, but it wasn't ammunition. It was double-chain cannon. Shaded in green, the weapon settled and connected with the AC. Elijah grinned slightly and looked at the AC status once again. _'Hm.__ A bit heavy, but well within parameters. Perfect.'_ Elijah then moved up to the AC cockpit and sat inside. The system for the new weapon was up and running, but there was a slight problem. The reason that Elijah didn't use it before was because in order to use the chain cannon, his AC would have to be stationary. And that sucked to him. 'Why can't I have an Intensify option?' He knew that both Cain and Koemai had one. Koemai used it for his back grenade launcher. But he never really understood why Cain had it. After all, Cain had no back weapons.

_'I wonder if he would…'_

_Beep, beep_

Elijah half-shot up from his seat before he realized that it was his signal. It was a mission contract from Kisaragi. A convoy had to trek through a desert in the Midwest sector. Due to the content of their package, it was very likely that they would be ambushed by opposing forces. Their security would not be enough if a full-scale battle took place, so a Raven would be need to level the playing field. Reviewing the mission, he saw that it would be a tough mission, in harsh conditions no less. And with his machine only nearly complete, he would need an edge in the fight. _'An edge.'_ With a slow glance, he looked over at Glaive, still being repaired from its damage.

_'He wouldn't mind…if I borrowed it for a bit.'_

==============================

_'He didn't'_

Cain had returned to the hanger a half an hour after he left. He obviously noticed the missing Havoc AC, showing that Elijah was out on another mission. But it wasn't until he checked up on his own AC that he saw his Intensify option missing and well, put two and two together.

"…"

Silently, Cain went over the review log, checking the list of missions for ACs. Looking at Havoc's, he found that Elijah had accepted a mission near one of the desert terrains by Kisaragi. It was hostile territory and the mission presented great risk. Elijah could probably handle it, but that wasn't Cain's concern. Accessing his personal controls, he typed in a pass-code.

AIsys: GBI-003

The floor opened up before him and Cain was lowered down into the floor. After a few minutes, he reached his secondary chamber. Moving through it, Cain flicked the lights on. Obelisk and Slifer shone in the lights, but Cain walked past them toward the back. The, also in the light, was the last AI he had created. One that he felt was too unstable to use…until now.

"Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry…"

==========================

_Desert wasteland_

Havoc stalked beside the short line of truck in the desert plain. So far, nothing had happened and there was no immediate sign of danger. The convoy was nearing the destination; a fort just a half a mile ahead. So far, things were going smoothly. But he's been a Raven long enough to know that there was no way it could be that easy. But then again, one can always hope.

"Raven. Enemy detected."

_'So much for that'_ Elijah thought grimly as he turned toward the enemy. In the dry skies above, a set of objects appeared. Elijah recognized them as jets.

_'That's it? They can't be serious.'_

Shifting to battle mode, Havoc armed up and raised its right arm machine gun. This was shortly followed by the loud rattling of the machine gun's fire and the explosion of three enemy jets. The remaining three flew overhead and Havoc turned and flew up in the air in pursuit. Locking onto one, he fired once more and brought down another jet just as they flew out of range.

"Raven. Help us!"

Havoc turned around and looked at the convoy. It was now being attacked by a group of heavily armored MTs. _'Where did they come from?'_ Havoc landed on the ground and swooped right back. Moving as fast as he could, he tried to lock on, but he was still too far away. One of the convoy trucks exploded in flames as the MTs moved in.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!"

Elijah growled inside, but then remembered as important detail. _'Wait as sec… My chain cannon.'_ Still in movement, Havoc switched to his new weapon and began targeting. Due to the Intensify option, he was still able to move while the weapon was set. The targeting range was greater than his machine guns and he was able to lock on instantly.

"Say hello to my little friends!"

The barrels whirled rapidly, letting loose a hailstorm of heavy bullet fire. The lead MT was literally chopped down within the first five rounds and blew up. With that done, he locked on to the next one and fired again, with the same result. Havoc soon moved between the convoy and the attacker and continued his assault. The attacking MTs were falling fast and Havoc was driving them off.

"Come on guys. Give me a…"

Suddenly, a heavy blast hit him from behind. Checking the radar, Elijah discovered that the jets that had gotten away had returned and fired on him. Enraged, he turned his attention toward them and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened.

"What?"

Elijah checked his weapon status, only to find that his dual chain cannon and his EO had been blown away. 'But how did that happen? That hit shouldn't have done that much damage.' But then he remembered that his AC wasn't fully repaired when he left. The upper back section wasn't as fixed as the rest of the machine and it now served as a soft spot for Havoc. Elijah shook it off for a moment and gunned down the remaining jets, turning them into cinders. Checking on the convoy, he saw that they were well ahead and nearing the fort. But there was also a large amount of MTs approaching them rapidly. And these were just as armed as the last few, equipped with bazookas and pulse guns. And to make matters worse, there were a lot of them. _A whole lot._

_'What the heck? Whatever Kisaragi has, somebody wants it badly.'_

Havoc swooped back and fired more rounds from his machine guns. Three MTs fell, but that was nothing compared to the ones that were coming. Even worse, his ammo was running dangerously low. The armor on the MTs was heavy enough to the point where it would take a good amount of ammo to bring them down. The forces were increasing. And without his EO, he wouldn't have anything to fight back with soon.

**_Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk_****_!!!!!!!!!!!!_**

Suddenly from out of the sky, a bolt of flaming energy swooped down and destroyed one of the MTs. As Havoc looked on, two more bolts flashed forth and blew away two more. Elijah turned Havoc to look at the source and was amazed by what he saw. There in the skies was what appeared to be an AC. But Elijah couldn't see it directly because of the sunlight and because of the shining golden color. It was as though a mystical creature had come out from the sun.

"Who are you?"

The AC didn't respond as it swooped toward the MTs with the amazing speed of its OB. It rushed past them all and then spun around. Its back weapon shifted open and a thick box-like object flew out the opposition. But after a while, the box exploded in mid-air and a swarm of missiles flooded out and attacked everything. Many of the MTs were all hit by the missiles and exploded in session. Wile the missiles were still falling, the mysterious AC raised its arms. One arm fired a thick bolt of violet energy, demolishing a MT that had managed to move out of the way of the missile barrage. Seeing another escapee, it fired once more, this time with the left arm. A grenade blast flew out and the second one exploded as well. Meanwhile, the missiles had all hit their targets and almost all of the MT force was completely destroyed, except for one.

_One very unfortunate MT…_

The AC raised both its arms while the sole MT fired upon it. But the weak bullets of the MT paled in comparison to the combined blast of energy and grenade and the MT was literally blown away into ash.

_'What kind of machine is that?'_

Elijah had watched the entire scene with his mouth wide open. The AC had just flew in and wiped out an entire force of heavily armored MTs within a few seconds. Nothing he seen had that kind of…wait a minute. He had seen it before. On the recording of the battle he had seen just before he left on his mission. It was then that Elijah realized what he was looking at. The golden AC before him was the third of Cain's AI Armored Cores.

_The Winged Dragon of Ra…_


	16. Earned

Disclaimer: See chapter one

_AN: A little short, but it just popped in my head and I had to finish_

Chap. 15

Elijah remained still and quiet as Havoc was set in its hanger. Seeing as how Ra was the machine to save him, that that would also mean that Cain knew about the stolen _(borrowed!)_ optional part. He didn't know what Cain would do because of it. Cain had only trained him so far, but he never had any reason to use discipline. Elijah growled. _'I'm a grown $$ man. I shouldn't be afraid of him.'_ Yet he still worried inwardly as the hatch opened and Cain stood in the entryway with his arms folded. Koemai was standing right beside him.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"I guess you know, huh?" Elijah said, not too strongly.

"Yes."

Elijah stepped out and lowered his head, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..."

Cain simply turned away and replied, "Hold on to it for now."

Both Elijah and Koemai blinked in surprise as Cain strode away and out of the hanger. Turning to each other, they exchanged glances.

"That was weird." Elijah said.

Koemai nodded, "Yeah, it was."

"Should I be worried?"

They both looked at Cain's disappearing figure and Koemai shrugged, "Who knows?" It was then that Koemai contractor began beeping, alerting the Raven of another available mission, from Crest.

"Well, time to go to work. See ya later, Elijah."

========================

_Mirage factory, northwestern sector_

The AC carrier opened wide and the dark AC Bloodhand lit up and moved out. The mission was simple. According to the description, he was to enter into the factory and destroy the security systems so that he could set up a bomb on the reactor, destroying the facility as well. Koemai smiled within his AC. He loved missions that involved nothing but destruction. He didn't have to worry about escorting puny MTs or convoys or protecting AC parts. All he had to do was go inside and destroy everything.

_'Bloodhand, time for pure chaos and destruction.'___

Entering into battle mode, Bloodhand moved toward the prone facility, ready for his mission. But before the AC could make another step, the facility wall exploded on the side. Koemai blinked as another wall erupted in flames, and another. Soon the entire factory was engulfed in fire, leaving the stunned Raven looking overhead.

"What the heck...?"

Suddenly, his radar beeped and an object appeared on it. Scratch that. Make that five objects. _'How the...?'_ Bloodhand turned around to see five dark ACs all standing before him. _The Death Dealer clan._

"Oh, it's you guys again."

Reaper spoke sharply, "Our offer. What is your decision?"

"I'm intrigued by it, but I must decline." Koemai replied. "I can't leave my clan."

The dark ACs stood silent before him and Koemai kept his hand on the trigger, expecting an attack. After all, it was five-on-one right now. Koemai was good, but not that good. But his fears were allayed when the five turned around and shot away in the darkness. But Reaper stopped short before flying away.

"If that is your decision. But it will have its consequences."

=======================

Charles walked into his own hanger, watching the repair of his AC. Its damage was minimal, so it would be ready for action shortly. And he would need it too. His plans was about to start up. Soon they will be ready. Soon, they will head for Silent Line and acquire all the power within.

_Soon...___

======================

Elijah sat in Havoc once again, lowering down an elevator to the arena site. A mysterious e-mail had called him, requesting an AC battle. If Havoc won, he would get a great prize. Elijah didn't know what it was, but it sounded promising. Truthfully though, Elijah just wanted to get out. Cain had been quiet for awhile now since the incident. Normally, that wouldn't bother him. But Cain seemed too quiet. That and the fact that he didn't request to take back the Intensify option made him feel a little edgy.

_'Oh well. At best I could get a good workout.'_

The doors opened and Havoc stepped out into the fore. The place was some sort of warehouse looking area. Pillars were scattered before him in to wide space and gates were lined above. _An extra bonus._ With the weaponry he had, all he had to do was get his opponent in a corner and unload on him, whoever it was.

"A cinch."

"What have I always told you about underestimating your opponent."

Elijah's eyes widened at the voice. _'No way...'_ The opposite elevator door opened to show Glaive walk out, fully repaired. Not only that, but Elijah noticed that the right arm weapon was changed. It wasn't the usual grenade launcher he had before, but a black energy cannon type weapon.

"Don't."

"Glaive? Cain?" Elijah stuttered.

Glaive bent low, "You want it? Then you must earn it...now!"

The OB boosters ignited and Glaive charged...


	17. Pained Lesson

Disclaimer: See chapter one

.

.

.

.

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.

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Chap. 16

.

.

"Cain!"

.

The only response was the blast of energy coming from the energy cannon on Glaive's arm. Havoc veered off, but Glaive pursued, letting out another blast. Again, Havoc avoided the attack and the energy exploded on one of the pillars, causing pieces of concrete to splinter everywhere. Havoc stopped in motion, as did Glaive.

.

"What are you doing, trying to kill me?"

.

Glaive simply turned to him, "Elijah. This is a real battle. Fight as though your life depended on it."

.

The Moonlight energy blade soon flared to life, causing Elijah to worry even more.

.

"Because it does."

.

==========================

.

Cloak and White Wolf were dropped off in the middle of a forest, readying for their mission. A dual AC mission that required them to ward off an attacking rebel force. At best, it would be relatively simple. That was until they arrived at the scene.

.

"Who the heck...?"

.

Both Ravens were surprised to see wrecked remains of machinery. Tanks and MTs were burning everywhere in the woods as cinders before the two.

.

"Looks like we're...wait, I got something on radar."

.

The two ACs turned to the right to see two dark objects blanketed behind the thick of the smoke. The shapes were humanoid and the glowing eyes showed what they were.

.

"Ravens!"

.

The dark duo charged from out of the smoke.

.

============================

.

Havoc was still engaged with a very aggressive Glaive. The newly repaired AC was attacking fiercely and without let up and Havoc was forced to retreat constantly.

.

"This is crazy. What are you doing?"

.

No response. The blue-white blade reared back and struck out, slashing through one of the other pillars in the room. Glaive turned to him and his OB ignited.

.

"What are YOU doing? You've been trained better than this. Now fight."

.

The right arm lifted up and the energy beam flailed out at Havoc. Havoc boosted off to the side as the energy exploded. But the distance was too close and the beam managed to hit one of the chain cannon turrets in on the back, damaging the weapon entirely. Havoc hit the wall and Elijah jettisoned the weapon.

.

_'He's really serious. I guess I don't have a choice.'_

.

Glaive began to advance when suddenly Havoc raised his machine gun and let it loose. Glaive stopped short in its attack and reversed direction. Havoc's boosters ignited and Havoc began to chase him down. The bullets rained throughout the terrain and Havoc moved, trying to keep Glaive in his sights. But that was proving difficult due to the extra boosters Glaive possessed.

.

_'This is no good. I have to get him into an open area.'_

.

Havoc stopped moving and remained in the middle of the room. Using the radar, Elijah kept track of Glaive, who was wheeling around in the far end. Havoc lifted both guns, but made no move to attack. Finally...

.

"There!"

.

Havoc unleashed his fire in front just as Glaive emerged out from behind the pillar. The white AC reeled out of the line of fire, but some of the bullets hit the energy cannon he was carrying. Glaive quickly jettisoned it and dashed away and Havoc went into pursuit once again. Elijah knew that Cain would never attack an opponent from the back if he could help it and simply waited for him to come and leave himself open.

.

_'Now you're mine.'_

.

However, within Glaive, Cain continued to pilot calmly thinking only one thing.

.

_He shot the wrong weapon..._

.

Havoc unloaded on Glaive once again, not giving the white AC a second's worth of rest. Without the cannon, he would have to rely on his blade and Havoc couldn't allow that. Increasing the pressure, Havoc activated his EO, increasing the firepower that he was dishing out. Glaive shot up into the air, but the iron grating above preventing him from flying far.

.

"Now I've got you."

.

Havoc upward, but the OB of Glaive flared open and the bullets missed, destroying the grating instead. Havoc turned around and followed, continually firing and missing the airborne AC. Havoc stopped firing and simply followed, coming up right into a corner. Glaive had just landed and was turning around. Havoc raised his guns and targeted in.

.

_'It's over.'_

.

However, Glaive whirled swiftly, causing Elijah to blink. _'How'd he do that?'_ Glaive overboosted again, straight at Havoc. Recovering from his shock, Havoc fired, but Glaive shot upward and disappeared from view. Havoc turned to follow, but Glaive had vanished.

.

_'Where did he go?'_

.

Elijah began to look around panicky, wondering if Cain also installed a stealth option to his core. But those only work on radar. 'The radar, of course.' Elijah quickly checked his radar only to find that the red dot that indicated Glaive was in the middle of the screen. 'That doesn't make sense. He would have to be right in front of me for that. Or...above...!'

.

Too late he realized as he looked up and saw the white AC fall down upon him from the open grating top. The Moonlight saber flared bright as it fell down upon him, tearing straight into the arm itself and severing it. Then, with a short boost, Glaive rammed Havoc to the ground, causing the red AC to skid across into the corner. Elijah growled as Havoc rolled across and hit the corner. Shaking it off, Elijah took hold of the controls, but did nothing else. The reason being was that Glaive was standing over him, with a foot on the leg and the blade in his face. Elijah froze stiff, seeing that he lost.

.

"Out."

.

Elijah blinked and Cain repeated his order. Elijah hesitantly opened the cockpit and emerged. The Moonlight blade was still active so confronting Glaive wasn't exactly easy, but he did it regardless.

.

"The option."

.

Elijah slowly reached inside and disconnected the Intensify option from Havoc. Not that he needed it now. Elijah took the device and set it down.

.

"Do you think you have earned it?"

.

Elijah frowned, "No."

.

"Why not?"

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The frown turned into confusion, "Because...I lost."

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"Try again."

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His fist clenched tighter, hating that he had to confess this openly, despite it being true, "Because...I stole it. But I said..."

.

"Sometimes apologizes aren't enough."

.

Elijah gave a deep sigh, but midway, the laser blade shut off and the cockpit opened. Cain stood out and looked down, his face neutral as always.

" Fortunately for you, I'm a nice guy. Anyone else would have finished you off for less than what you did. Understand?"

.

Elijah was still confused, causing Cain to shake his head. "Being a Raven is more than just being a mercenary. You have to have standards. Those standards will cause you to stand out from others, make you unique."

.

"You mean, like you?" Elijah retorted

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"That's right." The dark Raven answered. "How many Ravens do you know that go through the trouble of sparing their opponents whenever possible?"

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Elijah made gave no reply and Cain dropped down from his AC and before him, "I don't want you to be exactly like me. True, you will change the way you see and do things because of what I teach you. But remember you are your own person. With that, you have to have your own persona. I'm just here to make sure that you are ready for it."

.

Elijah still said nothing, but Cain didn't want a response anyway. He simply turned around and re-boarded his AC, but not before taking the optional part with him.

.

"Let's just head back."


	18. Secret Hearts

Disclaimer: See chapter one

_AN: It's a short chapter, I know. I'm trying to lead up to the bigger scenes yet to come._

Chap. 17

Cain walked on the quiet street at night. After the battle with Elijah, he had decided to take a walk outside. His mind was currently occupied elsewhere, occasional looking down at a pad of credits that he was holding. _'Just two more payments' _His eyes lifted and soon caught side of a dark figure leaning on a lamppost just up ahead. Judging by the similar black clothing, he could tell who it was.

"Bane…"

The dark figure shifted slightly, "You continue to defy fate."

Cain narrowed his eyes and began to open his coat in reach for his sword. But Bane didn't move in response to this.

"Not today. Not now."

Cain gave him a strange look, "That's not like you."

"Well, let's just say that something has some up. Something that requires more attention than I have to deal with you right now." He slowly strode out into the light, revealing that his face was now nastily scarred.

"But rest assured we will meet again. And you will not escape."

_'A matching scar.'_ Cain simply held his glance, "I don't seek escape. If you want to come after me, you know how."

Cain moved on, but stopped next to him with his head looking onward. The dark Ravens stood near each other for a second.

"But know this Bane. One day, _I will come for you._"

"Really? We shall see."

* * *

Koemai was currently in the hanger, reading over some information on the known clans. More to the point, the Death Dealers. After his last meeting with them, he got a little anxious over what might happen. The Death Dealers didn't get their reputation for no reason and Koemai wanted to make sure that they didn't try anything. Or if they, he'd be ready to combat them if the time came. Which was easier said than done. And much sooner than he expected.

"Koemai!"

Koemai looked up from his reading and saw his fellow Raven, Ellie walk into the hanger.

"Hey. What's the problem?"

Ellie stopped to catch her breath, "Diana and Baron were ambushed in their mission. They're in the hospital now."

_'Diana? Diana!'_

Koemai didn't even wait for Ellie to finish speaking as he bolted out of his seat and out of the hanger door. Koemai ran all the way to the hospital, which was a good three to four blocks away (They were Ravens after all. Casulties were a given.) The only time he stopped was to catch his breath in front of the door. He then weakly asked the orderlies were Ravens could be found. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Diana and Baron were the only Ravens that came in that time. Koemai rushed to the door and burst into the room.

"Di..."

"Hey."

Much to his surprise, both of them weren't badly hurt. Baron had a head wrapping on and Diana an arm bandage.

"You're alright?"

"Yeah." Baron answered with a grumble. "We were ambushed, but we just managed to get out of there in one piece."

Koemai blinked, realizing that he had ran all that way there without thinking or even letting Ellie finish what she was saying.

"Oh. I thought...never mind."

Diana noticed the sweat on his face and began to put two and two together, "What a minute. What? Thought what? That we…? That I...?" A smile began to form on her face. "Was you…worried about me?"

Koemai took a step back and stammered, "Uhhh...Don't...flatter yourself. I just...just...Ah, forget it. I have to go."

Koemai quickly exited, leaving both Ravens, one of whom continued to wear a smile on her face.

* * *

__

_-"But remember you are your own person. With that, you have to have your own persona. I'm just here to make sure that you are ready for it."-_

Elijah lay in his bed as he thought about those words. It has been a day since his battle against Cain. He had been informed about the attack on his compatriots, but such things were common. Right now, he only thought about what Cain had told him after the fight.

_'My own persona…'_

Now that he thought about it, much of his fighting strategies have been from what he learned directly from Cain. But there were no variants in them or anything that may indicate that he had anything of his own. Before that, he had only rushed into a fight and completed his missions by simple, but direct force. Despite that, he didn't have much to work with, given his weapons at the time. When he met Cain, he was still just getting started. But now, he was trained better and he knew how to fight with skill and thought. _So what could Cain be taking about?_

_'Could he…Is he finished with me?'_

Choosing not to think about it, he arose from his bed and by the window. He was about to check on his Raven status when he saw Cain emerge from his dorm from his window. Cain locked up and pocketed a credit pad. Elijah hid back, but watched Cain walk off into the night.

_'Again.__ Alright, it's time to find out what you really do.'_

Elijah grabbed his jacket and walked out. He trailed Cain, keeping a sizable distance from him as he followed. Cain had walked a good distance to the far side of town and entered inside a building. Elijah recognized it as a hospital, high-level. _'Why would he come here?'_ Elijah continued inside, barely able to watch Cain walk through the corridors and entering a room. The door closed and Elijah slowly stalked up to it, careful not to make any noise. Looking through the glass, he blinked, repeatedly. There, Cain was sitting on a chair next to a bed. Various types of equipment were practically littered around him. But what surprised him the most was the person in the bed. It was a woman, with fiery red hair and lovely features. She was unconscious and it seemed that much of the equipment was attached to her body. Cain was currently holding her hand, softly massaging this thumb across the top of her hand. Elijah couldn't believe this. Cain had never shown any interest in the opposite sex. But come to mention it, he's never even seen him around women aside from fellow Ravens. This would explain why.

"Hello, dear." he spoke softly. "I'm back. I am close. I almost have enough for the operation. Just a couple more credits." Cain sat back in his seat, seemingly relaxed. "Oh, I'd like you to meet my friend, Elijah. The one I told you about."

Elijah blinked in shock as Cain slowly turned to him. He waved his hand, indicating for Elijah to come inside. Elijah shook away his shock and slowly entered inside. Cain stood up from his seat, still holding the woman's hand.

"Aria, this is my student, Elijah. Elijah, this is Aria, my wife."


	19. Fire Revealed

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 18

"She's still alive?!"

Cain and Elijah were in a dorm room where Koemai had just discovered from them that Aria was still alive. His eyes went wide for a second before he looked at Cain again who was currently making tea nearby.

"Okay, let's start by saying, WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!?!"

Cain didn't turn as he answered, "At the time, I really thought she was dead. But I didn't want to believe that." He paused for a moment, "You remember how I was."

Koemai's eyes lowered, "Yeah. I couldn't even talk to you."

Cain stopped from his activity again and sighed aloud, "I'm sorry about that. Anyway, I managed to find her body in a hospital only to discover that she was in a coma. I brought her to this hospital in the hopes that she might recover with better medicine, but that hasn't happened yet."

"Okay, I get that." Koemai replied. "But that still doesn't explain why you didn't tell me."

"When I found her, you had taken a mission on Mars. At first, I was going to tell you, but…I don't know." Another sigh, "I guess I didn't want to get my hopes too high up."

"Oh, I see."

"You do?" Elijah said suddenly. "I sure as hell don't."

Cain shifted uncomfortably. The movement was slight, but Koemai noticed it. Grabbing Elijah's shoulder, he led the young Raven outside where he could answer.

"Two things. One, Cain is too stubborn and always tries to handle things himself. And two, he doesn't like encouragement. If he got his hopes too high and if she had died, them he would have been depressed all over again."

Elijah's face wrinkled in confusion, "But…he's always depressed."

Koemai laughed, "True. But with him, there's normal depressed and there's depressed depressed. Trust me, there's a difference."

Shaking his head, Elijah retorted, "Isn't there a happy for him? Something good?"

"Her." Koemai sighed and continued, "Before her, he was pretty much the same he is now. Even when he met her for the first time, he still was as dull as heck. But I could tell, even when he couldn't." His eyes began to drift off into the sky in memory, "Even he didn't know that he was in love with her. I had to give him some pointers and all and next thing you know, they had gotten married. It was the first time I've ever seen him smile."

Elijah gasped, "He…smiles? He can do that?"

Koemai laughed aloud, "That's exactly what I said."

Elijah moved away, shaking his head, "Oh I have to meet this lady. I mean, when she wakes up and all. If she…" He stopped for a moment, "So…how did she get that way?"

The elder Raven sighed again, sadly this time, "It happened a couple of mouths after they returned from Mars…"

* * *

_Flashback, Reactor Facility_

Two dropships flew over the grassy plain that surrounded the facility. The hanger doors opened and two sets of objects descended out and landed on the ground. Four mechanical figures. _Armored Cores._ One white, two red and one black.

"Here's the mission." Cain announced from Glaive. "We each have to go inside the plant through four different routes. Once done, we deactivate the reactors inside and get out of there."

From Darkhand, Koemai smirked, "That's all? Sounds like cakewalk."

Cain retorted, "Don't get cocky. The pay in this indicates that it won't be easy."

"Oh come on." Diana commented from Cloak. Looking over at the fourth AC, "Aria, could you tell you husband not to be such a stiff?"

From within Firewave, Aria gave a light smile, "I would like to, but he's actually right for a change."

"Cute. Real cute." Cain growled.

Her smile grew, "Yeah, and that's why you love me."

Sighing, Cain resigned to her, "Sadly, yeah. But we should still be careful."

"Fine, fine." Koemai said finally.

* * *

"We didn't think too much about it. It was just another mission. It didn't even seem as dangerous as the ones we've been on before. Everything went fine, until our escape…"

* * *

_Flashback, forty-five minutes later…_

The white AC Glaive stalked out of the facility and headed for the rendezvous point. Judging by the markings on armor, he had been through quite a bit of trouble inside, but nothing he couldn't handle. Reaching the point, he found the red AC Darkhand awaiting him.

"Hey Cain. Looks like I got out first. You know what that means. You're paying for dinner."

Cain let the remark pass, "Where are the others?"

"They haven't gotten out yet. But don't worry. You know how women are."

Just then, the jets of a hover-vehicle could be heard and both turned to see Cloak approach them.

"Hey guys. Kept you waiting long?"

"I got out first." Koemai gloated to her.

The woman grinned within and cheered, "Great. So all we have to do is wait for Aria and you two can pay for…"

**KABOOM!!!!!!!!!  
  
**

"What the hell?!"

The three turned to the facility to see a massive explosion erupt from atop of it. Koemai quickly checked his mapping sensor to determine the situation.

"One of the reactors went off. In section…34."

_'Section 34? Oh no!'_ "Aria!"

Glaive OB quickly ignited and the AC shot straight at the facility, with the other two right behind him. But he only made it halfway when…

**KABOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

This explosion was far different. Rather than one section exploding, the entire facility erupted in flames. Fire raged across the landscape before them all, more particularly a horrified Cain.

"No! ARIA!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

"The systems in the facility were faulty. When we shut them down, it caused a chain reaction that set them to explode. He went absolutely berserk. He even went inside through the fire to find her."

"Whoa."

Koemai gave a half-hearted laugh, "It was insane. He doesn't do insane. When he came out, his AC was almost totaled and he was covered with burns. But he didn't care. He just wanted to find her. He returned there to search, but only found her AC, also totaled. The cockpit was empty. He guessed that she escaped somehow but the AC was deep in the facility. Even if she had escaped, she would have never escaped the fire. At least, that's what I started to think."

"Guess that didn't happen." Elijah muttered.

"Guess not. It's a miracle to tell you the truth. His search wasn't in vain. But he spent nearly a year searching. During which he was absolutely miserable. He didn't eat often and his AC remained shattered. What money he had, he used to search for her. I tried to help him out, but…" He let the sentence hang and switched off the subject, "Anyway, that's the story, up until now."

"I never knew he could be like that." Elijah whispered. Throughout his time with Cain, he had never known his teacher to even think of doing anything so reckless. He was always cautious about things, especially on missions. This…was definitely different.

"Well, love makes you do things like that." Koemai answered. "And he loved…loves her very much." Koemai soon shook his head, "Enough of this sappy crap. We have a mission."

Elijah gasped, "We do? Why didn't you tell us?

"Slipped my mind?" was the humorous response.

* * *

"Charles had it set up for just the three of us. We are to assist Crest in defending one of their strongholds."

Cain stood in his usual corner, arms folded, "I'm surprised you accepted it. You hate defense missions."

Koemai shrugged, "True, but this isn't so bad when they're backing you up."

"Who's the opposition?" Elijah questioned.

Cain gave him a brief glance, noting his student's caution in this. Meanwhile, Koemai answered him, "Unknown. But whoever they are, they mean business if they want three Ravens guarding them." Grinning, "And who better than the Hands of God?"

"I have a bad feeling about this." Cain muttered.

"You have a bad feeling about everything." Elijah shot back.

Cain blinked at the remark while Koemai roared with laughter, "Hahahaha! Well, when the kid is right, the kid is right. I'll tell you what, when we get back, I'll buy you a drink."

"No thanks."

"Good, because I wasn't going to anyway."

Cain lowered his head at the remark while Koemai looked at the two, "So are we in?"

"Of course we are." Koemai said simply, still grinning, "Vengeance…"

Cain saw where this was going, "Justice…"

"And salvation." Elijah finished with a grin.


	20. Ambush

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 19

_Bio-Tech ____Facility ____Center__/ Mirage_

The domed structure was filled with all sorts of trees and greenery and buildings. A giant opening loomed overhead and various hanger doors circled around. Two of the hanger door lifted and three ACs charged out. Bloodhand, Glaive and Havoc.

"So what's the plan?" Elijah asked Bloodhand.

"You're asking me?"

"This was your idea, remember?" Elijah half-shouted. "Your mission."

Koemai shrugged, "Well it no big deal really. We just have to eliminate all the biological organisms that are in the area. Don't worry. It's cakewalk."

Nearby, Glaive stopped checking the area and questioned, "If it is, why does it take three of us to do it?"

"I don't know." the dark-haired Raven shrugged again. "Look, someone is paying us a hefty lot of credits for this mission. No sense in asking questions."

Elijah nodded, "He's right. Let's just get the job done and go."

Cain gave no answer and simply flew his AC off to the right. Elijah went down the left with Havoc and Koemai down the center with Bloodhand. The black and red AC continued to boost down the street toward the central building. The place had been abandoned because of the organisms so the Ravens could do their jobs easily. Bloodhand soon stopped when his FCS lit up. Crawling out of the sides of the building were the targets. The organisms were green, with a red glow on their backs. The crawled on six legs, making them look a lot like giant ticks. _'Or Disorder units'_ Koemai thought grimly, remembering his visit to Mars and the insect machines that existed there. The creatures saw the dark AC and shot straight them, crawling with a speed that belittled their size and shape. But it wasn't fast enough. Not for Koemai.

"Bug-squashing time!"

The AC lifted its arm, producing a new weapon to Koemai's arsenal. The Karasawa laser rifle. He had replaced his machine gun with this legendary weapon and now he made ready to use it.

**_Kssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!_******

A white blast shot out of the weapon and into the first organism. The creature was stopped in its track and it blew up instantly. The first one dead, Koemai quickly switched over to the next one, destroying it with the same effect. This went on couple more times, with the creature moving every closer. Not taking any chances, Koemai boosted his AC back and unfolded his grenade launcher. Thanks to the INTENSIFY option in his AC, he didn't have to sit down in order to use it. He targets the lead bug.

"Raaaaaiiiiiiiiiidddddddd!!!!"

A mighty blast ripped out of the machine and a literal fireball fell toward the organisms. The explosion hit dead on, destroying both the targeted organism and the couple close to it within the blast range. The number severely reduced, Bloodhand looked on to the next, destroying four more in one go. The final three were left, but they were too scattered to take out in one shot.

_'Weapon number three.'_

The grenade launcher folded up and the other weapon, the chain gun, took its place. Koemai smiled as the weapon went right to work, chopping down the remaining creatures until they were ash and cinder.

"Ah. There's nothing I love better than to hear a chain gun make kibbles and bits out of something."

Bloodhand moved toward the central building to see if there were any more, but the radar picked up no more energy sources. Coming around, he saw his two partners fly in to regroup with him.

"Well, I'm done here."

Glaive was the first to catch up, "Me too. That's seemed a little too easy."

"Speak for yourselves." Elijah mumbled from Havoc. "A group of those little buggers caught me by surprise."

Koemai gave a short laugh, "Ha! That's what you get when you don't equip a bio-sensor."

"Don't worry." Cain reassured. "The damage is minimal." His tone soon turned grim, "That's what concerns me."

"You mean you want me to get hurt?" Elijah exclaimed.

Cain ignored the comment and explained, "For such a menial job, this hardly requires three Ravens. One of low rank could have pulled this off without a problem."

"What's your point?" Koemai asked.

"I have a bad feeling…"

"Ugghhhhh!!!" Koemai moaned aloud. "You always have a bad feeling about something."

A beeping sound suddenly caught their attention. "Wait guys. I'm picking up an energy source." Elijah called as he checked his radar. Havoc head lifted up to the dome skylight, "No…three of them!"

The dark objects suddenly dove in through the opening and flew around them. The trio instantly got ready as the three invaders attacked, with one of them speaking...

"Death comes on swift wings." 

Koemai recognized them instantly. It was three of the Death Dealers clan. Hades, Anubis, and Sheol. The three wasted no time in attacking the three surprised Ravens and causing them to scatter. Glaive swooped away from Hades, Bloodhand confronted Anubis, and Havoc was left to fend against Sheol. Glaive ceased in his run and charged at the dark AC. Hades stopped in his pursuit and took to the air. Its back missiles opened and released a swarm of vertical missiles.

_'Ah damn. Verticals.'_

The OB flared to life on Glaive and he bolted away from the incoming projectiles. Once done, he stopped and locked on to him, but the FCS suddenly went dead.

_'First verticals and now ECM markers.'_

Sheol released another swarm of verticals, but Glaive flew toward and right under him, dodging them completely. Shoel flew off to the side, but he saw enough as Glaive was in the air as well. Worse yet, the Moonlight blade was emerging and coming at him. But Shoel dodged the slash using his reverse booster extensions, which shot him backward and out of harm's way. Both machines landed on the ground and Shoel began to on for another attack. But the pilot failed to realize that they where out of range of the ECM markers he planted, allowing Glaive to get a lock on him.

**_Fzzzzzzzzkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!_******

The energy beam struck Shoel right in the midsection and the dark machine was hurled to the ground. But Sheol wasn't finished and it began to rise up. Glaive locked on again, aiming for the head when…

"I could use some help here."

Glaive turned to see Bloodhand firing at both Hades and Anubis. The dark machines were closing in on him and he was being backed into a corner. _'Wait, where's Elijah?'_ A spray of energy beams answered that as he saw a damaged Havoc stumbling in to help Bloodhand. However, both arms of the AC were gone and Havoc was only attacking with his EO's, which Anubis and Hades seemed to ignore. Glaive looked back at the steadily rising Sheol and made a decision.

**_Fzzzzzzzzzzzkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!_******

Glaive sent out another energy beam…at Anubis. Anubis was knocked aside by the energy beam and hit the wall. Bloodhand, seeing the pressure off, moved in to fight Hades evenly. But before Glaive could try to assist again, his radar warning lit up. _'Damn' I'm locked.'_ He didn't have to turn to see that it was Sheol. His radar showed him the vertical missiles that were coming down right on him. He boosted to escape, but was far too late and the missile hammered in on him, knocking him down and doing severe damage.

"Turn your back on death? Fool."

Glaive finally managed to turn around to face Shoel, who was airborne once again. His laser cannon was rendered inoperable and his extra boosters were shut down. Without the speed of them, his machine would now be slowed down by the weight.

_'One thing left to do.'_

Cain jettisoned his extra boosters and his laser cannon, leaving him only with his moonlight blade. The weapon shimmered to life and Glaive was ready to continue the battle when…

_'What? Three more energy signals? Now what?'_

From the rooftop opening, three more objects dropped in, AC's as well. But these weren't dark-colored like their opponents. One of the newcomers flew toward Glaive and started attacking Sheol. The attacks didn't hit, but that didn't matter. The Death Dealer backed away as the newcomer stood before Glaive.

"Another time, Nightwatch."

The dark AC turned and swooped away accompanied by his partners. Glaive looked back over to the others and found them walking toward him, with the two other newcomers.

"Elijah. You alright in there?"

The armless AC gave no reply at first, but when Cain repeated the question, the pilot answered sulky. "I'm fine."

Bloodhand looked at the other with them, "I don't know who you guys are, but thanks."

The Raven didn't respond and simply assembled together. Koemai was feeling a little worried that they might attack them. The lead AC, cloaked in bright scarlet, suddenly activated it laser blade, which was also a moonlight blade. Koemai made ready to fight, but a hand gesture from Glaive told him otherwise.

"It's okay."

Glaive's own blade ignited and he crossed it over the core. The scarlet AC did likewise and then the two bowed to each other. Koemai watched this with some confusion until they raised themselves upward and the lead AC spoke.

"We meet again, Glaive."

"It's been awhile, Sword."


	21. Restored Hearts

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 20

"They are part of the clan known as The Way."

The three were on their way back to the Cortex after their mission and battle with the Death Dealers. While in the carrier, Koemai had asked him about the three Ravens that had saved them, specifically the one called Sword. After hearing what clan he was from, Koemai sat back.

"I've heard of those guys. Aren't they some sort of Raven cult?"

Cain frowned, "No. The name of the clan simply shows they follow a singular path."

Koemai narrowed his eyes at his partner's frown, indicating that he knew more.

"What path?"

"The way of the sword."

Koemai suddenly laughed, "Hahaha! It figures. What did these guys do, copy off of you?"

Cain looked away, "Yes…and no."

Now it was Koemai's turn to frown, "You know, I really hate it when you answer like that. What the hell do you mean?"

"Long ago, Sword was once Sentinel. The first time I met him was in the arena. You were out on a mission that time, so I chose him as a partner. Anyway, I must have made an impression because when I heard him next, he had changed from Sentinel to Sword."

"How much do you want to bet that it was in the arena again?"

"That would be a bet you'd win." Cain smiled briefly before his eyes became downcast. But that was some time after…the accident. I wasn't myself and he knew it."

* * *

_Flashback, Arena grounds_

"We meet again Glaive.">

Glaive stood in the arena, with a scarlet colored AC on the opposing end. Inside, Cain narrowed his eyes as he tried to figure out who this was.

"Have we met?"

"Once."> The Raven answered. "I was once called Sentinel, remember?">

"I remember."

The Raven continued, "But thanks to you, I am now a stronger Raven and as such, I have been renewed.">

"Renewed to what?"

The AC's arm lifted into the air and a blue-white blade blazed into the air. _A Moonlight blade!_

"Sword!">

A burst of energy could be seen, showing Cain that Sword had just gone into overboost. Cain activated his own and soon shot at the incoming AC. The two machines soon came close and Sword slashed out with his blade. Glaive dodged the attack and shot off to the side, extending his own blade. Sword's boosters flared and the AC began to circle around Glaive. Glaive went in reverse and soon met up with the scarlet AC. Sword saw this and attacked again with his blade. Glaive's blade arose and the two blades flashed upon impact. Glaive continued to back away, but Sword suddenly stopped.

"What is this?"> Sword questioned. "You are not the same Raven as before.">

Frowning, Cain drove Glaive in to attack, slashing out at Sword. But Sword simply sidestepped the attack and let Glaive go on by without attacking.

"No, you are. But a heavy burden weighs upon you heart. Your blade…your attacks tell me this.">

Glaive wheeled around to fight, but Sword didn't move. Cain thought of attacking, but he found himself reflecting over Sword's words. The truth is that he was right. Alia had been on his mind throughout the entire battle. The grief and pain followed and Cain found himself gripping the controls tighter. As he struggled to get a hold of himself, Sword suddenly turned around and began to walk.

"Wait. What are you…?"

"You will not survive like this."> Sword replied as he stalked away. "Recapture your heart and bring back your strength. When you do, I will return.">

* * *

"This guy sounds like you." 

Cain shrugged, "Maybe. He seems more…ancient than me."

"Ancient?"

"Yeah. Like he follows and old code or something. I can't explain it really, but I admire that in him."

Koemai shook his head, not understanding a word Cain just said. Moving on, "So what happened afterward?"

"I hadn't seen him again until a few months ago, before I met Elijah. We fought to a draw." His eyes stared into space, "It was one of the greatest battles I've ever been in. Nothing but blades and skill. After the fight, he asked me join the clan he had formed." His eyes lowered, "But I still wasn't ready."

"I have to say I'm a little surprised." Koemai responded. "They are a group of sword wielding, honor bound Ravens. It sounds like you'd fit right in with them."

"The same could be said of you and the Death Dealers." Cain retorted.

A grin/frown crossed his face, "Yeah well when we see them again, they are going to know what vengeance is like, right Elijah?"

Koemai turned to Elijah, but the young Raven was silent. Koemai repeated his earlier comment, but Elijah kept silent. It soon occurred to Koemai that Elijah had been silent throughout the entire trip back.

"Hey, you alright?"

No response. Elijah simply stood up and left the carrier as it stopped at the Cortex HQ. Koemai frowned.

"What's his problem?"

This time, it was his partner's turn to be silent.

* * *

_Late night…_

Elle stood alone in front of her hanger door looking out into the sky. Behind her, the AC Phantom stood, seemingly watching the female Raven with its emerald visor eyes. Her dark hair bristled in the wind as she sat in silence. A slight shuffle was heard, but she didn't move nor turn around. Her body shifted after a minute before she spoke.

"I figured you'd come looking for me."

A tall figure moved next to her, revealing the invader. Charles.

"How so?"

"Given our fight records, progress as a clan, and the way the corporation have been acting edgy, you're about to make your move through Silent Line."

The leader smiled and moved next to her, looking out in the sky in the same direction as she. "Is it that obvious?"

"As far as I'm concerned, yes it is." She turned a sharp eye to him, "Ever since you asked me to join Nightwatch."

He folded his arms, "And here I though I asked because of your sparkling personality."

"Come on, Charles. You know as well as I do that the only reason you invited me to join was because I am the only one other than you that has come to crossing Silent Line."

"Heh, well that may have been your initiation, but that's not why I chose you as part of the team."

She blinked, "Oh really?"

"Really." he nodded. "I needed a team that could be rounded off. All the other clans have specific styles so I figured to do something different. Something where everyone can contribute something to the cause."

Ellie turned her head fully, "And what do I contribute?"

"You understand speed attacks, agility and stealth tactics better than everyone." He gazed over at her, "You're the fastest. And you know speed is a key issue."

"And the others?" she probed.

"The others…have their uses."

* * *

_Next day…_

Koemai yawned as he exited his dorm room and he strode to the hanger. _'Another day.'_ He thought as he began to approach his Bloodhand AC. As he did, he passed by Diana's Cloak AC and stopped to look at it. The dark blue coloring made it seem like it had captured the night. Koemai gave a short sigh before moving, only to be frozen once again. Coming up toward him was Diana. She blinked as she saw him before her machine and he seemed to be at a loss for a moment.

"How's your arm?"

"Better." she answered, flexing her arm slightly. "It's just a little stiff."

"Oh…Okay."

She raised an eyebrow, "Did you…want something?"

"Nah. Just on my way to my AC." He shifted nervously and turned away, "See you around."

"Yeah. See you…" she replied quietly as he went his way.

* * *

"Graahh! Rahh!!! Come on!!!!" 

It has been a week since the battle with the Death Dealers and Elijah was busy training in the simulator. Sweat was smoldered all over his face as he fought the simulated AC and defeated it. Frowning to himself, he started the simulation over and resumed fighting. Just outside, Cain watched him fight furiously and improve on his skills.

"I don't know." Koemai spoke as he came up beside Cain. "Are you sure he's alright? He's been like this for a couple of days now."

"He's fine." Cain answered. "He's just working out."

"Working out?" Koemai frowned. "He's been pushing himself to the brink. I haven't seen him sleep or eat in the past couple of days and he's been spending a lot of time in the simulator and testing arena."

"All day actually." was the simple reply.

Koemai growled briefly, "How can you be calm about this? He's going to have a breakdown at this point."

Cain kept his voice neutral, "If he breaks, he breaks. But I don't think that's going to happen."

Koemai looked at his partner strangely. It was obvious he knew what was going on, but he refused to say anything about it.

"What the hell…?"

Cain looked back at him, "Trust me. He'll be fine."

Koemai shook his head in confusion, but then a beeping could be heard from nearby. The simulator shut down and Elijah stepped out. His com-link was beeping and taking a glance, Cain saw that it was an arena battle.

"Hey kid. What's going on?"

Elijah didn't respond and strode over to the hanger where Havoc was waiting. The machine had been fully repaired and its arm had been restored along with its weapons. Koemai and Cain followed as the young Raven entered the cockpit.

"Hey, what's going on?"

Again, Elijah didn't respond and began to start up his AC. Koemai was getting angry and was about to yell when Cain suddenly reached inside the cockpit and pressed a few buttons.

"What are you…?!"

Elijah stopped talking when he saw his left arm machine gun move away and was equipped with a laser blade. Elijah's eyes widened when he saw what it was.

"You're…lending me…your Moonlight?"

"Just for this battle." Cain answered as he moved back. "It may show you the truth and light."

"Huh?" Elijah and Koemai said simultaneously.

Cain looked over at the equipped weapon, "Blades are simple weapons. Simple and honest. When people use them, they tend to reflect those traits when they fight. Try it out with that in mind."

Elijah frowned in confusion, but closed the hatch and moved out on the railing to the arena. As the machine moved out, Koemai looked over at his partner.

"Can you please tell me what the hell is going on?!"

Cain watched Havoc leave the hanger, "He thinks he's weak. He needs to recapture his heart. I'm just giving him a bit of a hand."


	22. Revival

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 21

_Ruins Arena_

Havoc entered the decaying area. Stone pillars were all over the place, some of them laid out on the ground. Vegetation was everywhere as far as he could see as the machine stalk within. Sounds of metallic steps soon accompanied his and from behind one of the pillars came his opponent. _The AC Cobra._ It was a fiery red machine with four legs. He was equipped with flame-throwers on both arms, rockets and a slug gun on his back. Elijah most noted the EO's his core was equipped with. _Like his…__ 'Even though they did me no good.'_ he frowned inwardly. The two machines came face to face and turned around, as per the starting rules of this particular arena. It gave the opponents time and confused them somewhat too. Elijah however waited for his opponent to turn around first. He heard about the Raven within, Apophis, and that this guy played dirty.

-"What's the matter? Afraid of me? You had better be."-

The red machine turned around and Havoc moved in and turned as well. The toll soon rang for the battle to begin and Havoc shot forward, away from his opponent. He reached the wall and veered off to the left, looking for Cobra all the while. Cobra had turned off the side as well and was now coming at him. The EO's shot up and Havoc was soon under fire. Havoc shot back and Elijah let a full round loose. But he was a bit unsteadied when he realized that he was only firing with one machine gun. His back soon ran up against one of the pillars, leaving him stuck for a moment. Enough for Apophis to use his favorite weapons; the flame-throwers

-"Burn! Piece by piece! Limb by limb!"-

Elijah tried to move his AC to the left, but there was only a wall there. The flames licked across his core, heating the machine and the pilot inside. In near panic, Elijah jerked the controls to the right this time, escaping the torrent of fire. His machine began to cool down, but the AP was dropping rapidly in the meanwhile. _'I can't believe this. All that training and I'm still losing!'_ His rage caused him to send out another round of bullets at Cobra. Cobra evaded most of the fire and crawled back behind a pillar to regroup. Still furious, Havoc pursued him with the machine gun, firing when he saw so much as a speck of red. But when Havoc saw him again, he was faced with a rocket flying right at him. The projectile nicked the mid-shoulder of the machine and Havoc was forced to stop his assault. Pressing the advantage, Cobra switched to his slug gun and shot a spread of weapon fire. At the same time, he activated his EO's and stalked in on him. Havoc backed away and hid behind a pillar. _'Now what?__ This gun isn't enough.'_ His gaze wandered from his machine gun over to the left arm. _'The Moonlight…'_

_"It may show you the truth and light."_

_'Was this what he was talking about?'_ He didn't understand what his mentor had been saying, but he knew the power of the Moonlight blade. If he could get close enough, he could finish off Apophis in one strike. Nodding to himself, Elijah made ready to go out in attack but Cobra came in from above, unleashing his flame-throwers once again. Havoc backed away and lifted his left arm, ready to attack with the Moonlight, but Cobra switched to his rockets and launched them. Havoc backed away again, unable to get close enough to use the blade. Even worse, Havoc was backed into another pillar. Cobra reverted back to his flame-throwers and began to move in for the kill.

-"I think I've toyed with you long enough, boy."-

Without thinking, Elijah switched on the EOs, sending beams of laser fire at Cobra. The machine stopped briefly in its tracks, surprised by the hidden weapon. Taking advantage of his hesitation, Havoc rushed forward, the blue-white blade aglow in a slash.

"Rahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

The blade sliced across front of Cobra, scaring the core and slicing one of the flame-throwers in two. Cobra backed away and settled down for his slug-gun again. Havoc was surprised that Cobra was still active. He should have been defeated with that attack. And now that he was in close range, the slug gun's fire will destroy him. With no time to get in close, Havoc raised his machine gun again and let loose his fire. At the same time, his EO's joined in the fire on the immobile AC. Cobra was unable to fight back and by the time it got a lock on Havoc, it exploded in flames, thus signaling his defeat. Elijah took a deep breath and slumped back in his seat, wiping the sweat from his brow. _'That was too close. Why didn't the Moonlight finish Cobra to begin with?'_ He would have been killed if not…for his EO.

Havoc stood over his defeated opponent in silence while his pilot contemplated this revelation…

* * *

"That's usually my stance." 

Cain met up with Koemai outside an hour after Elijah had left for his battle. Koemai was leaning on the back of the hanger door, arms folded and head lowered slightly. The spiky-haired Raven lifted his head up when his friend caught his attention.

"Huh? Oh it's you."

"Something's on your mind." he stated.

"You could say that." he responded. "It's…Diana."

"Uh, what now?" he sighed lightly, figuring that they had yet another one of their arguments.

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Hmm." The tone in Koemai's voice secretly told Cain what he had guessed the whole time. The arguments gave evidence, but he wasn't totally sure until now. It was a feeling he was well away of. Still, he had to make sure. So he went out on a limb and blurted it out.

"You still love her, don't you?"

After a moment of silence, Koemai nodded slowly, "Yeah...."

Another moment of silence passed before Cain spoke this time, "Some time ago, a wise man gave me these words of wisdom." Suddenly, he yelled, "Then tell her!!!"

Koemai blinked out of his passivity, "Hey!"

But Cain didn't let up, "You had that coming a lot time now. Spare the rest of us some headaches with your arguing already."

"You're a lot of help." Koemai grumbled.

"It's the truth." The dark Raven soon stood beside him and folded his arms. "You guys have been bouncing off of each other for too long now. Don't waste your feelings. You'll only hurt yourself. Whatever you guys argued about, it clearly wasn't enough to make you stop caring about her. " His gaze drifted out into the sky. "And remember we're Ravens. Second chances are rare. Don't waste it."

Koemai didn't know what to think this moment, aside from the fact that his comrade was acting quite out of character. Or perhaps he was speaking from experience. In any case, his words gave him quite a bit to think about.

"I…I just feel like I screwed it up with her."

"To err is human; to forgive is divine."

Koemai chuckled, finally hearing the old Cain speaking now, "Oh, man I've forgotten how weird you are."

Cain gave a brief smile, but that disappeared when a low rumbling caught both their attentions. Looking up, they saw a truck carrier pull in to the hanger. The door of the massive vehicle open and out stepped Havoc. It was singed in various areas, but beyond that, no real damage. The AC settled into its bay and the cockpit opened, letting the Raven inside step out.

"Welcome back." Koemai called as Elijah came down, "How did it go? Did you kick butt?"

"Yeah." Elijah replied softly.

Again, Cain noticed the tone and turned to Koemai, "You should get going, Koemai." He then repeated, "Don't waste it."

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind."

Koemai strode away as Elijah came down and came before his mentor, who was still on the wall with his arms folded. Elijah had his head down for a while, but soon lifted it back up.

"You knew, didn't you? You knew I wouldn't be able to use the Moonlight. You wanted me to find my own strength again. You were telling me that I had to focus on the task and continue to survive."

"Did I?"

Elijah frowned, "Huh?"

"I may be you teacher, but I'm not a sage. All I knew was that you needed some encouragement. We all suffer losses and humiliation. We simply get up as soon as we can and move on. I was just lending you a hand. Anything you learn from it will be on your own." He then looked away, "A self-taught lesson."

Elijah blinked once, then twice. _'A self-taught lesson?'_ Elijah shook his head, "You mean… You are so weird."

"So what else is new?" was the stoic reply.

* * *

"Hey Di." 

Later on, Koemai approached Diana while she was working on he AC. Currently, she was rearranging the active optional parts with the new one she had recently acquired.

"Koemai." She suddenly realized that he had called her by her shortened name and asked, "What is it?"

"…I…I don't know." He frowned openly, "Damn it. Diana, I still…still…"

Diana watched him carefully and gave a slight giggle, "Heh. You never were good with expressing your feelings with words."

His frown deepened, "That's not funny."

"It is true though." She then looked away and sadly added, "I think that's part of the reason we broke up."

"Are you blaming me?"

"No…I mean..." She turned away fully as she struggled to organize her thoughts. "I didn't know what to think. At first, you were just a fun guy to be with. Fun… and a crazy." she added with another giggle. She turned back to him slowly, "I never expected to actually love you enough to…well, you know."

Koemai nodded solemnly and took a step closer to her, "Neither did I. But things happened and before I know it…you're…we're…thinking about…"

Now Diana took a step closer to him, slowly raising her hand to his face. Koemai watched, but did nothing as her hand inched closer. It was about to touch when…

"Hey guys, come quick! You have to see this."

The both of them jumped as they were snapped out of the moment. Looking down, they saw Elijah had come in and call to them. _'Great timing, kid.'_ Koemai thought grimly. Looking back at Diana, he only saw her hand drift away and she moved down the ladder. Koemai sighed mentally and followed them into the adjourning room where the others had gathered as well.

"What's going on?"

"A clan battle." Ellie answered. "The Way is taking on the Death Dealers."

The two of them looked at the screen where it showed the space arena. Within it, groups of Armored Cores were locked in a fierce and intense battle with one another. Koemai recognized most of the ACs from both sides as did Cain, who was watching nearby.

"So it has finally happened."

That comment came from Charles and upon saying it, the others turned to him.

"What has?" Baron asked.

"Those two clans have been in opposition for the longest. This isn't like our battle with the Animalz. This is very different. For them, this will be their deciding battle."

"To decide what?"

Charles looked back at the screen and solemnly answered, "Which clan survives."


	23. Rising of Death

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 22

_The Way- Sword, Sheath, Crescent, Samurai, Coda, Rapier_

_A clan that deals specifically with the use of energy and parrying blades.__ Highly skilled in Arena single combat duels and combat, they live by a warrior's code and are one of the most respected of the clans._

------

_Death Dealers- Reaper, Anubis, Sheol, Hades, Black Widow, Skull_

_A dark clan that shrouds itself in death.__ This group of Ravens is one of the most feared clans and it is considered certain death to encounter them in both missions and the Arena._

* * *

_Desert Arena_

The battle between the two clans had reached an epic point early on. At first, the two groups were even, utilizing their full efforts to combat each other. But as the fighting progressed, it soon became clear that the Death Dealers had the advantage, use their distance against the close-ranged opponents to bring them down. But despite this, The Way was far from out of the battle and continued to fight. In the end, AC's Sword and his clansman Crescent where left to face against the Death Dealer's Reaper, Anubis, and Sheol. The five Ravens, locked in mortal combat, would now push themselves to the brink.

_It would be the only way to survive…_

"Crescent. Can you still read me?"

"Yeah boss. I'm a little worn out though." That was an understatement. The yellow-white AC was badly singed and missing a right arm. By all account, he shouldn't have even been fighting after taking a direct hit from Black Widow's TITAN large missile, but he persevered, bringing down the four-legged Raven.

"Okay." Sword began. "We have to focus on Reaper. If we take him down, the remaining two will be easier to deal with."

"Cutting off the serpent's head, huh?" the pilot replied. "Gotcha covered."

Sword boosted in first, barreling toward the three dark Ravens. Meanwhile, Crescent followed behind, activating his EOs and causing two of the three Ravens to scatter aside. Reaper remained where he was and activated his energy blades, which blazed out in the form of purple energy scythes. Meanwhile, Sword drew in closer and activated his own saber, but didn't attack. Experience told him that it is best to wait until his opponent attacks with the blade first and sure enough, Reaper did. His first scythe cut out into the air at Sword and Sword lashed out in response. The blades ripped through each other and Reaper made ready for his second scythe when Sword's extention boosters flared, causing the scarlet AC to turn off to the side and Crescent to come in for his own attack. Reaper was forced to halt his attack and shoot away from Crescent own Moonlight blade. Crescent and Sword soon moved in to press the attack but a swarm of missiles lit up their screens.

"You can not escape death!"

The vertical missiles had come from Shoel and the two Ravens split up to avoid them. Sword lurched forward, keeping his sights on Reaper as it flew back. Sword's back weapon lifted and the AC fired a single missile. The missile however, didn't fly toward the Raven, but high above it. When it was just overhead, the missile exploded, sending down several bomblets upon Reaper. The bombs hit Reaper and froze him for a moment, but a moment was all Sword needed to move in for the kill.

Or so he thought…

Suddenly, Reaper stepped back, out of range of the energy blade and Sword's blade hit dead air. _'How did he do that? No pilot could bring his machine out that quickly.'_ Reaper seemed to grin as the energy scythes came to life again and he unleashed him with all fury. The first ripped across Sword midsection, damaging the radiator in the process. The second slash cut across the AC's right arm, causing it to crumble to the ground. Sword shot back as he surveyed the damage.

_'Radiator busted…Lost the grenade launcher, and the arm with it…AP is at 1001…This is bad.'_

It got worse. Sheol and Anubis flew right on each side of him from behind, surrounding him. Sword looked around and saw charred ashes of what was once Crescent. He was alone and he was doomed. There was no way he could fight now and win. Hell, he probably wouldn't even live through this. But he would not just stand there and die quietly. Lifting his only arm, he let the blade ignite in the sky.

"Long live the fighters!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The Nightwatch clan watched as Sword charged in to the fight and the other two Ravens moved in on him. The fight ended slowly, for Sword didn't make it easy. Even when they destroyed his Moonlight, he continued on, ramming them whenever he could and even causing some critical damage to Anubis. But eventually, they brought him down and he was defeated.

"It's over." Charles said quietly. "The Way is no more."

The others were equally stunned by what they had witnessed. "What a guy…" Elijah whispered. "Didn't go down without a fight…"

"Tell me about…" Koemai started, meaning to speak to Cain, only to find him gone. "Hey, where's Cain?"

The sound of machinery soon answered him and the group looked out to see Glaive walking out of the hanger locks and doors. The quad boosters flared alive and the AC soon blasted off into the skies.

"What the heck does he think he's doing?" Baron questioned. But there was no one to give an answer.

Fifteen minutes later, Glaive reached the arena in the desert sands. Smoke was still in the air by the time he had arrived and the sun was just beginning to set on the horizon. Looking on, he saw the charred and torn remains of ACs, mainly from the way. There was also some black pieces and weapon that belonged to the Death Dealers, but not whole ACs. _'They must have pulled them out.'_ Glaive strode through the carnage and soon reached his destination.

_'Sword…'_

Before him was the AC Sword, or what was left of it. The machine was ripped apart, showed numerous scorch marks and slash burns all over it as though it was attacked by a fire-breathing wolverine. The core was ripped up in the middle, the head was completely crushed, and the legs were scattered in the sands. Yet despite this, the Moonlight blade still remained in its arm, even though the shoulder was disconnected and hanging limp off the core. Glaive moved in close and Cain was able to actually see inside the core since its chest was exposed like it had been gutted. Upon closer examination, Cain saw the pilot inside. Glaive stopped in its tracks and Cain opened the hatch. He jumped out of his machine and into the exposed machine where the pilot lay. He was badly wounded and parts of machinery were stabbed into various parts of his body. Cain stared down at him a bit until the pilot's body suddenly jerked, causing Cain to jump in surprise. The man's eyes opened slowly and Cain bent down to him.

"Sword!"

"Who are…?" He asked groggily at first. But he caught a glimpse of the blue-white AC behind him and blinked.

"Glaive?"

"Yeah, it's me." Cain looked up and began moving the machinery out of the way. "Come on. I'm getting you some help."

The pilot managed to lift his hand, stopping Cain from helping him. "No point…I'm already too far gone…and we both…know that." The pilot looked over to the side, "That's how it was…supposed to be…there could be…cough, cough…only one."

Cain lowered his head, knowing that it was true. He had far too many injuries to count and there would be no time to help him out of this desert before his body succumbed to them. Cain closed his eyes, an act the pilot took note of.

"I'm sorry that…I won't be able to…challenge you…now." he smiled weakly. "But I guess…that's the way of things." His body spasm and he grimaced. Forcing it down, he looked back up at Cain.

"I…never got…your name…"

"Cain."

"Cain, huh? How appropriate…Rule…with a spear… My name is Michael." He spasm again, more violently this time and then his body seemed to slow down.

"Perhaps…we'll meet in…another lifetime. I'll gladly take…up the challenge again…"

"Perhaps…" Cain nodded.

Michael's eyes slowly closed as he whispered his last words, "But until then…let me…rest…with my…clan…"

His head tilted off to the side and his body became still. Cain stood up from him in silence. As a Raven, he was no stranger to death. But it still affected him. The dark Raven began to move back to his AC when something caught his eye. The sun had now almost descended completely below the horizon, bringing the night along with it. But that wasn't what caught his attention. Rather, it was the dark form that stood on top of one of the dunes just beside the sunset.

_Reaper…_

Reaper stood in the coming darkness, staring at both the demolished Sword and Glaive, with Cain staring at him from in between them. He could just swear that he was looking straight into the eyes of the pilot himself.

_Bane…_

The dark AC flashed its laser scythes briefly and waved them in the air. Cain understood the signal perfectly.

_His clan would be next…_

* * *

_Hanger_

Koemai was in his Bloodhand AC, tuning it up for his next mission, setting up his new radiator to the rest of his machine's systems. _'Or Arena battle, whichever comes first'_ he commented to himself. After witnessing the clan battle early, he was taking no chances. His encounter with the Death Dealers as well as their earlier attack on them was evidence that they would be the next to face them. _'Last thing I need is to cook inside my own machine…again'_ he joked mildly, remembering his last mission where the radiator short-circuited and the heat in his machine rose up to almost 100 degrees. He still remembered the sensation of the heat as well as the great relief when he exited his machine into the cool air. I don't think I've ever felt so hot before. _'Well…except…'_ Koemai shook his head. He was trying to get his mind of his earlier encounter with Diana for awhile. Flicking a few switches, the green lights went up, informing him that all systems were good. It was then that a figure approached him from outside.

"Hey, Koemai." Elijah introduced. "I'm going to get a drink. You coming?"

Koemai shrugged, "I don't know. Don't really feel like it today."

Elijah cocked an eyebrow. 'Well that's a first' he thought. But he didn't give up. "It's on me."

That caused Koemai to literally jump out of Bloodhand. "In that case, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The two Ravens climbed down the ladder and moved toward the hanger exit. But Elijah paused for a moment and looked off to the right. Koemai's eyes followed and widened slightly when he saw Baron and Diana coming up to them.

"Di…"

"Koemai." Diana replied, equally surprised, but hiding it better. "I didn't know…"

"Hey, are you guys coming or not?"

The two of them looked over to see Baron and Elijah already walking out of the hanger ahead of them. Looking back at each other, they said nothing and simply followed, the tension between them now sizably increased.

Unknown to them though, Elijah noticed…and grinned.

* * *

_Beach_

Cain found himself situated on the sands near the Cortex, deep in thought. Sword…Michael was gone. That was the simple truth. But he had felt no sorrow, save for losing the chance to face him in battle again. But that didn't matter. He was a warrior after all…

"It is present in your thoughts."

Cain stopped walking, the voice interrupting his thoughts. But he didn't turn. He didn't have to. He already knew _he_ would show up eventually. True to form, a dark coated figure emerged from the shadows behind him.

"It's nice that you took a glimpse of your future." Bane said quietly. "There's a sense of finality in it."

Cain snorted in light amusement, "The Way and Nightwatch are two different clans. Aren't you being presumptuous?"

"Perhaps." He replied, shifting. A dark glint shone in his eyes, "But aren't you being foolish to face me constantly when you have a loved one in a coma?

The amusement was now gone, "What?"

Bane answered darkly, "The eyes of death are everywhere. You should know that by now. But perhaps that is why you have stayed alive so long. The hope that she will revive perhaps?"

"…"

"But that will not help you." Bane went on after Cain's silence. "Death does not play favorites. However, I will do you a favor. When you die, you won't have to worry about her awakening without you, because I will see to it that she joins you." He shrugged casually, "Whether it is heaven or hell is entirely up to the two of you."

Cain had heard more than enough. In a flash, he whirled around, unsheathed his sword and sent it right to Bane. But Bane was already waiting and snapped his own sword up to block, sending out a loud clash. Cain snarled angrily at the dark Raven.

"Touch her and…!"

"You'll do nothing, not if you are already dead." Bane replied, cutting him off. He then pushed back, breaking the lock. Cain looked ready to attack again, but instead, he held his place, although his sword was still drawn. Bane backed away into the shadows once more, fading away.

"Our next confrontation will be the last. You will either cheat death…or taste it."


	24. Mending

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 23

"Now I remember why I stopped playing this game." Koemai grumbled

Koemai, Baron, Diana and Elijah were in a local bar playing pool. Unfortunately, the guys were all getting creamed by the skilled pool shark of a woman.

"Something must be wrong with my stick." Baron replied lamely.

Elijah sighed along with him, "Either that or she rigged the game somehow."

Diana waved the stick around as she circled the table, smiling"Now, now, boys. Let's not be sore sports here." She stopped and aimed the stick, "8-ball, center pocket."

She hit the white ball and it ricocheted off the edge and hit the 8-ball. The black ball rolled steadily into the center hole, sinking it. The others groaned aloud at her undefeated streak.

"Aw! She's unstoppable." Elijah groaned. Putting the stick down, "That's it. I'm going to get a drink."

Baron did the same"Me two. You guys want anything?"

"Yeah, get me a double." Koemai answered. "I get the feeling it's going to be a long night."

Elijah nodded, "Alright. Oh, and can you hold this for me for a moment"

Elijah passed Koemai a paper envelope to which Koemai slipped in his pants pocket. The two youths then walked away, but not toward the stall.

_They went right out the door..._

* * *

After her talk with Charles, Ellie returned inside the hanger and sat near her AC, Phantom. Once there, she looked up at the skylight roof, with Phantom alongside her vision. Frowning slightly, she stood up, hopped over to the machine's arm and climbed up on its shoulder. She lay on it and looked up in the skylight once again. It was a partially cloudy night, with the moon up in its half stage. She had thought over what she and Charles spoke about before. 

About how she had came close to getting through Silent Line...

_Flashback..._

The thick clouds presented an ominous feel to the landscape, but the pilot was unafraid. Phantom silently entered the area with Ellie at the controls. Her mission was simple; she was to scout the abandoned mining facility and determine if it was still operable for use. Mirage had built the place, but it was right on the border of the mysterious Silent Line. _'What were they thinking?'_ she pondered. Considering the reputation of Silent Line, she thought it was utterly foolish for anyone to build something nearby. It was an accident just waiting to happen.

_'Let's get this over with.'_

Boosters aflare, Phantom glided over to the facility. According to her intel, the place was under minimal power, meaning that the gates and lights should still be functional. Moving in close, she entered the keyword and the gate opened up. Phantom then stalked inside, moving silently through the corridors and hallway that lowered deeper inside. Entering through another gate, she found a wide chamber hallway. Various mining equipment and scattered mineral were found in the empty space, but Ellie gave little regard for them as she moved on. Her survey was almost done and there was nothing out of the ordinary.

_-"Survey complete.__ Return Raven."-_

Sighing, Ellie turned her machine around and headed back up to the entrance. This seemed like a waste of time, but the woman Raven had been on enough missions to be wary when things were too easy. Phantom made its way to the surface and out the exit and for a moment, Ellie thought that maybe the mission was that easy.

It sucks to be wrong sometimes...

_-"Raven. Heat source detected. Unidentified MT confirmed."-_

Ellie frowned as she gripped the controls tight in preparation. She had dealt with MTs before. Some where heavily armored with high firepower while others were lighter and used laser based weaponry. She knew how to deal with them both. All she had to do now was see what she was dealing with.

**KABOOOOMMM!**

Ellie was barely able to pull her AC away from the incoming grenade blast that came out of nowhere. Turning to the left, she saw her assailant. It was a heavily armored white MT. Its design was unlike anything she had seen before. The machine made a short hop in the air and released another grenade blast. Phantom veered away and fired back, pelting the machine with the laser rifle. Most of the beam hit their mark, but it did very little to even slow te machine down and it fired another grenade burst. Ellie blinked with surprise, but shook it off as she jetted back and fired again, this time combining her rifle with her left-arm howitzer gun. The pellet weapon shot out and burst upon impact on the MT, but it kept coming. The MT settled on the ground and soon raised its arm. A long barrel protrusion unhinged and soon bolts of energy flashed out. If not for her quick reflexes and AC's speed, Ellie would have been blasted into dust as her AC hopped away from the fire. But she knew she couldn't keep this up for long. Giving the MT's strength, her machine wouldn't last long if it took a direct hit or two. Looking about, she sees a forest of trees nearby and flies into it. The MT unhinged its cannon arm and followed her in pursuit, firing continuously. As her machine flew through the trees, the white MT followed, firing whenever it could. Ellie continued to evade the fire while keeping herself close as to not lose it. Finally when she was ready, she activated her OB. The extra boosters opened and her machine swooped through the trees in rapid pace. Pulling hard on the controls, she pulled her machine around, swooping through the tree and eventually rushing toward the MT. Quickly, she shut down her OB and at the same time, locked her missiles onto it.

_'Let's see you survive this.'_

The missile flew out toward the target and mid-way, it split into four missile, all swooping in on the MT and hitting it. Not leaving it up to chance, Ellie rearmed her rifle and together with her howitzer, fired continuously at the machine. The combination of weapon fire would be enough to bring down the strongest of machines, but this one wasn't as easily bested and launched another grenade round. This time, she was unable to avoid it and her AC was hit hard, causing it to fall and the Raven inside to cry in pain. But her assault had worked and right after it fired, the MT exploded in flames. Inside, Ellie groaned and painfully motioned her AC upright. The right arm had been blasted away completely and the core was horribly singed, but still in tact. Which is more than could be said of the pilot. Ellie was bleeding from her side and shrapnel was still pierced within her. She had to get out of there. It wouldn't be long before she passed out from blood loss. As she looked to see where she was, sunlight broke out of the cloud, partially blinding her. But she saw it. Through the glare of the sun, she saw the ancient city that she had only heard rumors about. Which meant only one thing...

_She was smack in the middle of Silent Line..._

She briefly considered continuing on, chancing it. All she ha to do was OB straight there. She would have to put it on exceed orbit, but it could be done. But she couldn't. Her wounds were far too serious; she would be lucky if she could make it back at all.

**_Shhhhhhzzzzzzzzz!_**

Suddenly, an energy beam shot down from the sky, almost hitting her and demolishing the ground beside her. Looking up, she saw several more beams flying right at her like lightning. Without a moment's hesitation, she shot away from the city just as the second and third beams crashed down where her AC once was. As she flew to escape, she saw her AC's loss in fuel and it would only be a few second before she was dead in the water. Moving quickly, she adjusted her AC's booster controls. Once done, she activated her OB once again. A warning light flared up, but she didn't care. The energy blasts were becoming more accurate and closing in on her rapidly. The four-legged machine shot through the trees once again, out running all the energy blasts that rained down from the sky. But the Raven was no longer in control of the machine.

_Ellie had passed out cold..._

_Present..._

The last thing she had remembered was activating her OB and directing the machine. Her wound, along with all her exertion, had become more than she could bear and she passed out. Fortunately, Phantom had carried her clear across the border and her transport had picked her up a moment late. They had found her machine still flying across the landscape until the exceed orbiter on her fuel had shut down, bringing the machine to a complete stop. She was soon treated for her injuries, but the image of the city was burned into her memory. She was close. So close that she might have made it if not for her injury. Ellie raised her arm to see the scar that still remained. It was well hidden under her arm and it coursed its way straight inside. To her, it was a constant reminder of how close she had come.

_And how truly dangerous it was..._

* * *

Diana finished off another round of pool, much to Koemai's dismay. With a growl, he tightened his grip on the pool stick and briefly thought of snapping it in two. It was then that he noticed something amiss. 

"What's taking them so long?"

"Come on." Diana retorted lightly. "It's been...a half hour? Whoa, that was awhile. Guess time does fly when you're having fun."

"Fun for you, you mean." Koemai grumbled. "I'm going to go check."

Koemai moved away from the table while Diana remained where she was. A minute later, he returned, a confused expression lined on his face.

"They're gone."

Diana soon shared the looked with him. "What? Are you sure"

"Yeah. Barkeep said that they left right after they came over."

"They just left? That doesn't make sense."

"Tell me about it. He even left his..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope. Strangely enough, he noticed that his name and Diana''s was on it. "What is this"

Opening the envelope, he found a small note inside. Diana moved next to him to read as he opened it. It read...

_Koemai__/Diana_

_You two need some time alone. Cain's idea. He says, 'I told you I'd get you back and have fun.' Credits under the table. See you guys later._

_Elijah_

_P.S. Baron also left a little gift of his own_.

"He got us back." Koemai laughed, shaking his head all the while. "I've got to hand it to him; he knows how to hold a grudge." He stuffed the paper note in his pocket and turned to her. "Well, what should do then"

Diana blinked and then turned her head to the table. Koemai was a little worried by her abrupt silence and then she finally whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

"I guess we stay out. We...can talk."

She turned around to face him and Koemai seemed to take in her words. Without a word, he nodded to her and the two of them moved to the door. But before they did, Koemai reached under the pool table and grabbed hold of the aforementioned credits...as well as Baron's 'gift'. Diana saw it as well and her face flushed.

"A condom. How...hm."

* * *

_Hanger_

The following day, Charles had called in the clan for an important announcement. All of them gathered except for Cain, but it wasn't unusual for him to be around somewhere in the shadows listening.

"Alright guys." Charles began. "Our moment is here at last. Crest has issued an advance contract for multiple Ravens. They want a group of Ravens to bypass Silent Line and scout it out."

Despite the indications of the news, the group was skeptical. This was still Silent Line they were talking about and it was unlikely that the corporations, even one as big as Crest, could have found an simple way to enter.

"And just how do they expect anyone to enter?" Diana questioned.

"The details state that they plan to send in a group of aircraft, each equipped with an AC and Raven to fly into it. As soon as that happens, they will be shot down." He held up his hand before they could protest"The aircraft will crash into Silent Line where the ACs will be released to continue onward."

Ellie folded her arms, "Well, that's certainly inventive. But it also sounds foolhardy. There's no guarantee that A: the destruction of the aircraft will survive getting shot down and B: the fall of the crash won't damage or destroy the AC's themselves."

The clan leader nodded, "I know. They plan on flying the aircraft on low levels. The hangers of the craft will also be equipped with shielding in order to protect the ACs inside. Also, we aren't going directly across Silent Line. We're going to head toward a bunker that was discovered within it. They believe that within it is the control source for the satellite defense mechanism. Once that's down, we're free to go on."

"If only it could be that easy." Koemai mumbled.

"There's no guarantee in this which is why they're sending in more than one Raven. Here's the good news. They're looking for a group that can work well together. Since all communications is cut off, the group needs to know what the other is doing without having to talk."

"They're looking for a clan." Ellie affirmed.

Charles smiled at her quickness. "Exactly. That puts us in a good position as well as increases the odds of survival."

Elijah lent back on the wall and placed his hands behind his head. "I hate to sound like Cain but, what's the bad news."

Charles sighed, "The bad news is that we have competition. We're not the only ones that want to venture into Silent Line. The others clans will want the contract as well and will fight to get it. Since it doesn't take effect for another month, which means in a month's time, we could be under assault by any one of the three remaining clans."

This was worse news than they could have thought. They were competing to enter in one of the most dangerous missions yet. And their competition was just as dangerous. The remaining clans besides themselves were Death Dealers, Blood Omen, and Majestic Force. They were already acquainted with the Death Dealers and their deadly ways. Blood Omen was even worse than the Death Dealer in that fashion and they were like some sort of dark cult of zealots. Finally, there was Majestic Force, made up of the six top-ranked Ravens in the arena and led by Mobius, the Nine-Breaker himself. This seemed like more than they should or could deal with. Yet, to every Raven, Silent Line was like the Holy Grail. It was bigger than they were, bigger than anything.

"Unless we attack them first." Baron suggested.

"No." Charles replied, shaking his head. "There's no sense in wasting our resources. We'll let them make the first move and counter it." He placed his hands on the table"Remember, we're Nightwatch and we have to see what they're doing before they do it." His eyes roved about and soon it became clear that Cain hadn't spoken yet. Looking around, they saw that the dark Raven wasn't there after all; otherwise, he would have made his appearance by now.

"Where is Cain? He should be here for this."

"Yeah, that's true. It's not like him to be late." Koemai noted. "Usually he just pops in out of nowhere."

"Is he in his dormitory?" Ellie asked.

"I checked already." Elijah answered. "He wasn't there. I haven't seen him since yesterday." He then added in afterthought"I think I know where he is."

Five minutes later, Koemai and Elijah are walking over to the hospital where Aria was being kept. As the two walked toward the building, the younger Raven casually asked.

"So...What happened last night?"

Koemai didn't even turn to him. "Sorry kid, but that is my little secret."

"Come on." Elijah goaded. "You can tell me."

Koemai continued to look forward and then he grinned. "Maybe...when you grow up."

This elicited a groan from the young Raven, "Oh don't you start that with me too."

Koemai laughed aloud as they entered the hospital. They walked through the white halls, indicating to the receptionist that they were visiting someone. Soon they reach Aria room, but were shocked by what they discovered.

"She's gone!"


	25. Shatterstorm

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 24

_Hospital_

"They're gone."

Koemai and Elijah were just leaving the room where Aria was formerly in. Elijah grumbled in disbelief. "I don't get it. What do you think happened?"

"Well, chances are Cain moved her somewhere else." Koemai reasoned. After checking the hospital reports, he found out that the records of her presence there was gone, indicating that someone had wanted her out in secret.

"Without saying anything to us?"

The elder Raven lifted an eyebrow. "This is Cain we're talking about here, remember?"

Elijah moaned. It was true. Cain never usually speaks of his intentions and if he feels that he should act, he does so without say unless necessary.

"Yeah. But still…"

Koemai waved a hand. "I wouldn't worry. After all, Glaive is still in the hanger so he'll have to be back eventually."

"I guess so."

"I know so." Koemai reassured. He'll come back when he comes back. We'll just have to make due without him for a bit." He then gave a slight frown. "I'll tell you one thing. He picked a hell of a time to disappear."

"Isn't that the truth." the young Raven agreed.

* * *

Meanwhile in the hanger, Ellie decided to get to work on adjusting her AC. After the news Charles gave, she had wanted to make sure her Phantom was primed and ready for Silent Line. But as she finished adjusting the gyro systems, she paused for a moment and shook her head. 

"We've got to stop meeting like this."

"I wouldn't say that." the person responded from behind. It was Charles. "We need all the good luck we can get."

Ellie smiled at the complement, but kept it hidden away from him. Realizing what he had said, she lightly questioned him. "Having second thoughts, are we?"

He shrugged. "More or less. You?"

"I would be a fool not to." she chuckled. Her tone then became serious. "But I'm going to do it regardless."

Chalres nodded and took a step toward her. "Same here." A moment of silence drifted and then he spoke again. "Hey, you want to go get a drink?"

She stopped in her work for a moment, considering his offer. She then replied. "No."

Charles nodded in understanding and began to walk away, but then she added softly.

"But thanks for the invite."

A light smile graced his lips and he turned his head. "Another time, perhaps?"

"Perhaps."

* * *

_Mid-afternoon_

Koemai emerged from his room in the dormitories. After his return from the hospital, he had went in to check to see if there were any missions he could participate in. Seeing that there weren't any, he figured that he would get in on a little training with Elijah. Ever since his match against Cain, Elijah had been pushing himself to be better. It had gotten to the point where Cain didn't have to give him exercises and merely checked up on his students' progress. As he walked to the training area, he heard a familiar voice call him from behind.

"Hey Koemai."

"Diana." Koemai partly froze before turning around to her. "What's up?"

His gaze locked with hers and he almost it hadn't, because he froze again. She seemed to be equally stilled, but spoke on. "About last night...It was…nice."

"Really?"

"Don't act surprised." she smiled. "I know you enjoyed it too. Which is why I wanted to ask to go out with you tonight."

Koemai raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me out on a date?"

"No. I'm asking you out to dinner." She stared at him hard. "Do you see it as a date?"

"Well…Yeah." he responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

Her smile returned. "Then pick me up at 7:30 tonight." She turned and quickly walked away from him. "And don't forget to bring some flowers."

Diana disappeared outside, leaving the Raven stunned. "Huh…? What…just happened?"

* * *

Elijah settled in front of the test unit for his AC, Havoc. Dismissing the thoughts of his missing teacher, he decided to do some training on his own. Unfolding the terminal, he accessed the test units in the advanced level he would be able to fight against. Many were some basic ACs, which he has beaten already. Normally, Cain would put him up against a new creation each time to keep his options open. But it seemed that Elijah would have to find something else. Scanning through them, he stopped on a single AC. 

_'Extreme...But if I can handle it...'_

Decision in mind, he pressed the Enter key and stepped inside the cockpit. The screen lit up and soon Elijah was in open terrain. He checked over his weapons to make sure the changes he made were acceptable. He was now armed with only one machine gun on the right arm, with the left sporting a long-range laser blade. On his back, he had a single extra ammo case and missiles and the shoulders had support missiles. The weapon were different, but he well knew how to use them. From across the virtual plain, a new figure materialized.

_AC Obelisk activated. Test mode engaged-_

Elijah gripped the controls and dashed off just as the blue AC made its attack barrage. Grenades wiped across the area as Havoc flew off and fired back. Due to heavy weight of the AC, Obelisk was unable to avoid the machine fire. But its heavy armor took the brunt of the fire without slowing and continued its onslaught. Havoc stopped firing and hid behind a building. _'This guy...'_ The building suddenly crumbled behind him and Elijah geared the machine forward as another burst of grenade fire. Havoc managed to turn and fire again, but as before, the bullets had little effect on it. _'What stops this guy? He's un...'_ Elijah suddenly shook his head. _'What is the matter with me? I shouldn't worry about this guy. **I created him!'**_

Stopping in his retreat briefly, Havoc switched over to his missile and then activated his missile extensions. Havoc then shot up into the air and right in the sight of the behemoth machine, locking on multiple times until the sights were fully locked. Obelisk locked on as well and fired at his airborne opponent.

_'Have to keep it locked...'_

Havoc let the missiles swarm the air, flying around the grenades that were flying at Havoc. Jerking the controls hard, Elijah pulled his machine out of the line of fire. One of the grenades exploded in the air above him, but Havoc wasn't too badly damaged. Meanwhile the missiles hit Obelisk dead on, kicking up dust and smoke as the all smashed into it. But the missiles had just as much effect as the bullets. But it was the smoke that Elijah needed.

_'It's now or never.'_

Hoping that his machine was fast enough, Elijah boosted straight at Obelisk while it was distracted by the smoke. He knew that the FCS would allow Obelisk to see through the smoke, but his missiles were different. They were designed to jam radar depending on the AC. Because Obelisk was radar strong, Elijah would only have a few minutes, maybe even seconds.

_'Have...to...make it.'_

The strain on the Raven was great, but he continued to close in, igniting a blade of red light on his arm. Meanwhile, Obelisk's sensors kicked back up and locked on to the incoming Raven. The back grenades lifted and fired the dual fireballs. Havoc dodge the first one easily, but the second one was much closer. On instinct, Elijah pulled off to the side, causing the grenade to just miss him, although it took off the left extension piece. But Havoc continued its approach just as Obelisk lifted its arms.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The blade cut through the air, its long range allowing it to cut into the underside of Obelisk and continue by as Obelisk fired and missed. The blade didn't do too much damage, but it showed just enough to realize that is was significant. Havoc wheeled around and was faced with the back of the blue machine.

"Let's see you survive this!"

Unlocking his EOs, Havoc unleashed both laser and solid fire, literal scorching the back of Obelisk. Because of its size and weight, Obelisk was unable to turn around fast enough. Havoc kept firing on the back for awhile before Obelisk was able to turn around and fight back. The heavy machine was still in the fight, but the damage was now more apparent on it now. Elijah fought the urge to grin as he flew back into the fray.

"Let's go!"

* * *

_Night_

She smiled at him…

She smiled when he arrived at her dorm to pick her up. She smiled when he was rendered speechless after seeing her in her silky black dress. She had smiled at his stuttering, pleased that after all this time, she could still have that affect on him. When he had calmed down, he gave Diana the flowers, to which she gratefully accepted. And even though dinner was her idea, he chose the place in the city. It was an Oriental restaurant, quite expensive looking. Diana was flattered by this and Koemai was happy that she was (even though it was costing him quite a bit to do it). The two of them sat at their table and ordered the food. As they waited, Koemai found himself deep in thought about her. Or at least one particular question. How did I ever break up with her in the first place? Even though he tried not to think about it too much, he still cursed himself for his own stupidity.

'_I guess last night cleared up a few things. A lot of things.'_

"What are you thinking about?"

The voice of his date snapped him out of his thoughts and he smiled. "Oh, nothing. Just staring at you."

Diana smiled back. "As sweet as that is, you were still thinking about something. What is it?"

Koemai looked down at the table and then whispered. "…Last night."

"Oh." Her smile broadened. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

His eyes lifted. "Yeah."

They held their gazes on each other, simply smiling at each other as they enjoyed each other's company. It was beginning to feel like heaven for them as they both soon realized they were falling in love with each other all over again.

Then heaven, along with the entire restaurant shook violently...

"What the hell!"

Another shake rattled the place and people jumped up and screamed from the shaking. Light flashed outside and more rumbling occurred throughout the building. The two Ravens rose up from their seats and moved to the exit. As they did, they saw people on the streets fleeing for their lives and debris falling from the sky. Looking outside, they saw the cause of the disturbance. A missile had flown in a destroyed a nearby building. But what was shocking was that the missile had come...from and AC.

"No way!"

A black AC flew off into the air, dodging fire from another AC that was already airborne. The aerial AC raised a Karasawa laser rifle and shot bolts of energy down at its opponent. The black AC dodged it and the energy smashed into buildings, causing them to explode internally.

"ACs? Fighting here?"


	26. Balance of Power

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

Chap. 25

_Majestic Force - Mobius, Zero, Shade, Haunted, Silver Fox, Corpse Maker_

_A clan created from the top-ranked Ravens of the Arena, they reign as the top clan among the others. With each member being a deadly opponent, combined, they are nearly unstoppable._

_Motto – "We are…perfection!"_

_>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>_

_Blood Omen – Cursed One, Vampire, Dark Ritual, Broken Seal, Pentagram, Unholy_

_A group that practice occult arts, as Ravens they are equally as frightening. It is said than whenever they defeat an opponent, they take their souls as well._

_Motto – "Your souls are ours to do as we please."_

* * *

The city was literally torn asunder as the two groups of machines waged their battle against each other. People scrambled and ran for their lives as buildings exploded and fell apart, results of the weapon fire that scattered from the opposing groups. Koemai and Diana scrambled along with the other people as they sought to avoid the increasing battlefield.

"What the hell are they doing?" Diana exclaimed through the loud rumblings. "Battling in a populated area like this. It's insane!"

Koemai nodded. "Yeah. We have to get back to the Cortex now."

She blinked. "What?"

"We have to get these guys out of here before it goes too far."

Another loud rumble shook the pavement which they stood on, nearly making them fall to the ground. Annoyed, Diana muttered. "I think it's a little late for that, but let's go."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Cortex itself, Elijah ran out of the simulator when he heard the loud explosion that where coming from outside. Looking out, he saw several clouds of smoke over the city, combined with various weapon fire that streaked across the skies.

_'What the hell? A battle within the city?'_ The Cortex and the surrounding city was deemed untouchable for both battles and missions. The corporations wouldn't dare attack the Cortex for fear that of retaliation from the Ravens as well as not to disturb the business relationship they had with the mercenaries. Thus it was deemed off limits and strangely enough, the safest place from Armored Cores. A battle within the city was unbelieveable. And yet, that is what was happening right before his eyes. As Elijah looked on, a whirling sound caught his attention and he looked over to the right were Baron was just opening his AC cockpit.

"Baron! What's going on?"

The Raven looked up from the cockpit and answered. "A battle with Majectic Force and Blood Omen clans have broken out in the city."

Needless to say, his response was one of shock. "Are they crazy?" Baron and began to enter his cockpit once again. Seeing this, Elijah asked. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm going to stop them."

Elijah's shock came back. _'Has everyone gone crazy!'_ "Are you crazy? You can't stop them by yourself."

"Then what are you waiting for?" Baron yelled from inside the cockpit. "Get your $$ moving then!".

Elijah shook his head, think about just how insane it was for two Raven to try and stop a battle between the two highest ranking Raven clans. But as he said before, everyone has gone crazy. _'Why should I be any different?'_

"Ah, what the hell..."

Sliding down the ladded, he ran to his hanger and climbed up to Havoc. Entering the cockpit, he set the controls and readied all weapon systems

_Main system. Engaging combat mode._

The golden eyes of Havoc lit up and the machines stomped out from its holding area. The hanger door shifted open and Havoc looked out, accompanied by the White Wolf AC. The two machine looked at each other briefly before looking out into the smoking city. Then simultaneously, the boosters flared to life and the machines flew in through the city.

"So what's the plan?" Elijah asked through the comm.

Baron replied after a bit of silence. "Actually, I haven't thought of one yet."

"What!"

"Hey, I'm making this up as I go along." he quickly whipped out.

Elijah shook his head, in disbelief. He should have know better that to get himself into this. He acted impulsively again. Still, they did have to do something. Now they need a plan as to what.

"We have to draw them out of the city." Elijah said.

"Okay, that's an idea." Baron agreed. "How do we do it?"

"I don't know." Elijah replied. "I'm making this up as I go along."

Baron blinked and then let out a short laugh. "We're screwed."

"Pretty much, but that's the plan and that's what we're going with."

"Roger that. Let's go."

* * *

Agood distance away from the Cortex, Charles and Ellie were paying keen attention to the battle that erupted within the city.

"Blood Omen and Majestic Force." Ellie said softly. "This is terrible."

"It looks like the situation has changed." Charles said in response. "We may have to make a move sooner than projected."

"Hm." Then two more ACs flew into the scene, barreling straight into the city-turned-battlefield. Ellie recognized them immediately. Havoc and White Wolf.

"Those ACs... Elijah and Baron." Charles confirmed.

Ellie shook her head in disbelief. "I swear those two rush into everything."

"The joys of youth."

With a sigh, Ellie began to turn and walk, but Charles turned his head.

"Don't."

"Huh?"

"There's no point in joining them."

Ellie turned to him, again in disbelief. "What do you mean? We can't just leave it like this."

"I'm not saying to." he replied. "But not with ACs. That'll just cause more damage." He looked back out into the city. "And more death."

Ellie looked out again and realized that he was right. To go out there in her own AC would only do more damage and do more harm than good. _'And I was just berating them for being reckless'_ she mused. Returning to the situation..."Then what do you suggest?"

Charles turned around and began to walk toward the Cortex. "Well, since they're already out there, might as well put them to good use."

* * *

The streets of the city were all but deserted, with a few people still scattering to get away from the battle. Debris and rubble was everywhere and a couple of bodies were littered beneath. The two Ravens continued on their way to the Cortex, seeming to ignore the bodies when in fact they were simply used to the sight of death. But the situation was out of control and they had to survive first and grieve later. Yet Diana stopped to take in the sight.

"This is...too terrible."

Koemai stopped in his tracks and turned to her. Her gaze was slowly sweeping the landscape and he could just make out a single tear in her eyes. Moving over to her, he placed his hands on her shoulders. He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what. He just didn't want to see her sad. Diana looked up at his eyes and seeing his concern, felt reassured somehow.

"Thank you."

"You're...welcome." he replied, a bit confused but glad that she wasn't down anymore. But suddenly an energy blast hit the side of the building next to them, ripping through and sending the top half of the building falling toward them.

"No!"

Koemai suddenly tightened his hold on Diana and swung around, tossing her away as the debris fell down. Diana hit the floor and roll as the dust kicked up. It had happened so fast to her that she was a bit dizzy for a while before she got up, coughing from the dust that swarmed the air. Waving it away, she desperately looked around.

"Koemai!"

The dust settled, revealing the new level of debris that was before her. In panic, she moved toward the debris, prying the debris away in fear of what may have happened, screaming all the way.

"Koemai! Koemai!"

"Ughhh! I can hear you..."

She blinked and whirled her head over to the right. There, halfway buried in the debris was Koemai. He was face down and covered from his lower body up to his back. Moving down from the mound of debris she was on, she struggled and managed to pull enough of the debris off to drag him out and over to the nearest building (That wasn't knocked down). She then stopped against the wall and rolled him over face up.

"Koemai."

His eyes were rolled over, but he managed to straighten them out for a moment and gasp out.

"Can't...feel my...legs..."

* * *

Havoc and White zoomed in through the building, heading toward the warring clans. As they approached, more buildings ahead exploded in weapons fire and Elijah found himself lost all of a sudden. _'How do we even start?'_ The two clans were the most powerful of clans and they seemed intent on destroying one another. Two Ravens wouldn't be able to stop that. Chance are, they will only get themselves killed. But they had to try something.

"Please tell me you've thought of something." Baron called over the comm.

"Still working on it."

A closer explosion caught their attention and the machines halted. Descending into the scene was a brown and yellow AC, equipped with a laser rifle in its right hand, a laser blade on its left, grenade launcher and small missiles on the back and missile extensions on the shoulders. Both Elijah and Baron gasped at who the Raven was as it looked over at them through gleaming red eyes.

"Mobius!"

In that moment, they were face-to-face with the Nine Breaker, the ace Raven of all Ravens and champion of the arena. For a moment it seemed that he would turn and attack them, but the AC turned back and fired into the smoky air. The energy beam disappeared within and a moment later, sparks flew out. The two were in disbelief as to what he had fired at until the source emerged from the smoke. It was a pale AC, equipped with solid rifle gun, left arm missiles, a orbiter and vertical missiles on the back and missile extensions on the shoulder. They looked on as the AC fired down on Mobius and forcing him to zoom away. The AC looked over at them and muttered.

"Your fate is yet to be seen."

_Cursed One..._ The lead AC of the Blood Omen clan. The pale machine then turned and chased down Mobius, only to be confronted by a salvo of missiles. The machine agilely dodged the missiles and they continued on their course, now heading for White Wolf and Havoc.

"Aw, crap! Dodge!"

Both ACs shot off to the side, avoiding the majority of missiles that flew at them. The few remaining ones smashed into the buildings and three of them hit into White Wolf's shoulder, damaging the inactive missile interceptors on it. The flying debris shattered everywhere, flicking off the two ACs. As Havoc moved off, he began to rethink things. They were no match for the likes of either Mobius or Cursed One, much less both of them at the same time. They could wait for the clans to run out of ammo, but by the time they did that, the city would be nothing but rubble. They had to get them out and there was only one way they could do that.

_'I'm going to regret this.'_

Raising his machine gun, he shot up out from behind the building and fired in the direction of the two ACs. The fire flew on through and hit the back of Cursed One. But the pale machine paid no attention and continued its assault on the Nine Breaker. Elijah blinked. _'He's ignoring me?'_ Meanwhile, White Wolf had seen what Havoc had done and repeated the action, jumping up and firing a bazooka shot. The heavy ammo flew through the sky, aiming for Cursed One. But Cursed on dashed aside and the shot flew at Mobius instead, hitting the building beside him and sending more debris everywhere. Baron's eyes widened, imagining that he had now earned the wrath of the Nine Breaker. But to his surprise (and partial relief), Mobius went on to hunt down Cursed One, ignoring White Wolf altogether. Elijah noticed this.

_'They're ignoring us...just to destroy each other? It doesn't make sense.'_

"Come in, Havoc."

Elijah blinked at the voice. "Charles. What the hell is up with these guys?"

From the hanger, Charles replied via his own AC. "What did you expect. They don't have time for you and they really don't care."

A frown grew over Elijah's face. "That's messed up."

"Don't worry. I have an idea to get them out of the city."

"It's about time." Baron calling in through his end of the comm. "What do we do?"

"Attack the AC Dark Ritual."

Elijah's face narrowed. "That's it?"

"Just do it."

_'Well, it's better than nothing.'_ Elijah mused. Flying into the sky, he activated his AC identifier and scanned the battling mechas. It took a bit of time, due to the chaos and weapons fire that was creating interference. But finally, Elijah tracked down the Dark Ritual AC. It was a sleek black AC with crimson stripes across it and reverse-jointed legs. Its arms were dual energy slug guns, its back was armed with two set of vertical missiles and shoulders equipped with vertical missile extensions. Right now, he was currently attacking a seriously damaged Silver Fox, a gray heavyweight AC with a Karasawa rifle, shield, dual vertical missiles and extensions. But all the weapons it possessed was either damaged or destroyed, leaving it with only it EOs to fight back. Dark Ritual bounced across, dodging the energy beams that were fired from the bulky AC. Dark Ritual opened up its verticals and let them fly. The missiles soared high into the air and then descended on Silver Fox like meteors. The AC raised its shield, but it was a futile gesture as the missiles swarmed him and in a stream of smoke and fire, the bulky AC fell to the ground. Elijah watched this with a hint of anger, remembering how the Death Dealers crippled him in the same manner. Gripping tight on the controls, he unleashed a salvo of machine fire on the AC. The bullet ripped along the back of the dark machine, but it stood motionless. Elijah was worried that the plan didn't work and that Dark Ritual would ignore him just like Mobius and Cursed One. But rather, the machine turned around slowly and looked up at Havoc, its red eye gleaming brightly.

_"Dark Ritual Summoning..."_

Elijah blinked in confusion as White Wolf flew in beside him, raising his bazooka in order to fire. But soon, gleams of red lights flickered within the smoke.

"Charles, what's going on?"

"Run now!"

As soon as he said that, the red gleams burst from the smoke, revealing the entire Blood Omen clan. Both Havoc and White Wolf turned around as the machine went on an all-out pursuit after them. Elijah had to carefully in order not to overheat his generator, but he also had to keep his machine flying as Blood Omen stuck on him tight.

"What did you just make me do?" Elijah shouted back at the comm.

"By attacking him, you've...activated the ritual."

"What the hell are you talking about!"

"It's what they believe." Charles went on to explain. "Attacking Dark Ritual in their mind is like summoning demons, in this case, all of them. It's a signal for a joint attack on the attacker."

"Are you serious!"

"They're chasing you, aren't they?" As in answer, a cannon blast flew by his head and demolished the street before him. "Don't worry." Charles continued. "Now they'll follow you out of the city."

"Then what?"

"Then you deal with them."

"Deal with them? What kind of help is that?"

Charles didn't reply and Elijah felt the urge to hit the comm, but decided against it (He'll hit the speaker later) as he flew toward the edge of the city. White Wolf was suddenly blocked off by an explosion and forced to stop. Turning around, he saw the entire Blood Omen clan right on him.

"Guuaahhh!"

He raised his weapon to fire, but the ACs continued on, flying past him. Baron was surprised by this. _'Why didn't they attack me?'_ As in answer, Charles spoke in through his comm.

"You didn't activate the ritual so they'll leave you alone."

Baron let out a sigh of relief, but it was cut off when a roar of booster fire alerted him. From the direction of the first clan came the Majestic Force clan. And just like Blood Omen, the ace Ravens soared past White Wolf in pursuit of the rival clan.

Meanwhile, Elijah was getting the bad end of the battle as the Blood Omen continued to pursue him. The good news is that he managed to get them out and with Majestic Force following, the city was safe. The bad news is that his fuel energy had just burned out. The red warning lights lit up and left Havoc in walking mode. Not that that would matter because in the next second, Blood Omen would be upon him and he would be destroyed.

_'Is this the end?'_

_**Fzzzzzzhhhhh!**_

Elijah's eyes widened when he realized that the sounding blast hadn't hit him. Turning Havoc around, he saw that the Blood Omen clan was now firing at a new target, moving fast across the side of the wasteland. Phantom...

"What are you waiting for?" Ellie screamed over the comm. "Move it!"

"I can't." Elijah shot back. "My AC is drained. It'll take another couple of seconds to return to normal."

Ellie snarled as she narrowed avoided another energy beam. "Okay, I'll..."

It was then that the remaining members of Majestic Force caught up and fired upon Blood Omen, blasting away Broken Seal and damaging Unholy. In return, Cursed One managed to lock on to Zero and blast its head off, causing it to fall out of the air and crash into the ground. Havoc was still stuck in walking, trying to avoid the weapon fire that was flying behind him.

_'Come on. Hurry up!'_

The fuel gauge lit green and without another thought, Elijah pushed the controls forward, narrowly avoiding a cannon blast that erupted beside him. No other shot came at him as the two clans were embroiled in their own battle. Along with Phantom, the two machines moved back toward the city, meeting up with the approaching White Wolf.

"Okay, what do we do now?" Baron asked, eager to enter the battle.

But Ellie cast his hope aside in her answer. "Our mission is complete. Let's just get out of here."

Baron looked back at the ongoing battle. "What about them?"

"As long as they're not in the city, I don't care." Elijah grumbled.

Baron seemed ready to argue when the sound of new weapon fire alerted their attention. Turning back, they saw a dark set of ACs dive out of the sky and fire upon both Blood Omen and Majestic Force. The two clans were too badly damaged and by the time they realized they were under attack, their numbers were reduced. The dark ACs hit the ground and continued their blitzkrieg assault.

"What the...? The Death Dealers?"

The Death Dealers pressed on, taking out Dark Ritual, Shade and Haunted. The only ones left were Cursed One and Mobius, both unable to do any serious fighting. The two ACs faced off against the clan of seven, lead by Reaper.

"Strong or weak, good or evil, all are equal in death."

Ellie, Baron and Elijah watched in horror as the two remaining ACs were literally slaughtered before their eyes by the dark clan. They didn't go down without a fight, but they did go down. After five minutes of fire and attacking, the Death Dealers stood triumphant over the corpses of machinery and weapons on the ground. Right before their eyes, they realized that the two most powerful clans were wiped out by one. As they realized this, Reaper turned its head over to them and raised its energy scythe at them, slashing down. Elijah knew exactly what that meant.

"We're next."


	27. Remaining

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

Chap. 26

"What? What do you mean?"

Diana, Elijah, and Baron were in the local hospital in the now-devastated city. The two male Ravens arrived after the battle after they had heard about what had happened to Koemai and gone to join Diana. It took them some time too, due to the fact that there were so many people that were injured in the battle. Diana seemed panicked as the doctor informed them of the situation. Panicked and upset.

"Don't take it the wrong way." the doctor continued quickly before she got too upset. "All I said was that it was a possibility. He's a Raven so I'm sure he's strong enough to pull through." He paused and his voice tone dropped. "But you have to accept the fact that it may be possible that the damage may be more severe than we can detect now. If that's the case, then his lower body functions will cease."

"He'll be crippled?" Elijah questioned.

"And as I've also said, that's a possibility. It's still to early to tell so you'll have to wait until tomorrow." Glancing down the hall at the other patients. "And he wasn't the only one hurt out there."

The trio became silent, hearing the possibility that their fellow Raven might be crippled because of this. It would have been more understanding if it had happened on a mission or during battle, but not like this. Not by accident.

"I would like to stay here." Diana said finally.

The doctor turned to her. "Well, I'm not sure..."

She cut him off. "Doctor, can you do anything right now?"

"Well, not until morning..."

"So in the meantime, he's safe as long as he stays in bed."

"Well, yes." he stammered. "But..."

"Then my presence here until that time wouldn't be getting in your way."

"Well, no, but..."

"Then I'll grab a seat and see you in the morning."

"But...I..."

Baron laughed as Diana silently entered the room and grabbed a nearby chair. "Forget it, doc. She's not going to take no for an answer."

"Very well." he conceded with a sigh. "I'll inform the orderlies and nurses."

Diana sat down right beside the unconscious form of her... What was he right now? They hadn't gotten back together yet. At least not officially. But she cared for him very much. That much she knew for sure.

_'Koemai...'_ She reached over and held his hand softly in her own. _'We are so close. Please return to me.'_

* * *

"Our victory is close, dark brother. Eliminating the two clans in their moment of weakness was excellent." 

**"Well, it should be. It was us that evoked the dread of the Blood Omen against the Majestic Force."**

"They are fools. So into rituals and ceremony. They have no true concept of death."

_**"And Majestic Force was just as easy to manipulate. Their pride and ego were a far easier weapon to use against them."**_

_"All that are left now are our rivals. Nightwatch."_

"We should have attacked the ones that were there and reduce their numbers."

_"No. They are our rivals for a reason. They can not be manipulated like the others."_

**"That still doesn't explain anything."**

"They are our equals. At the very least, we should crush them when the stakes are right."

_**"Ah, Silent Line."**_

_"Now you're catching on. Death will be present all around them. They will not stand a chance."_

"Yes. Perfect."

_"And I have a score to settle. One of their kin have evaded death once too many times. And Death is not one to be cheated."_

_**"The Hand of God, Glaive. The Sword of Nightwatch."**_

_"Yes. And amid Silent Line, he and all of his kin will face his fate at the end of my scythe."_

**"Death. The only way out."**

* * *

Leaving Diana alone with Koemai, Baron and Elijah left the hospital. But while Baron seemed impassive, Elijah had a deep scowl on his face. At reaching the outside, Elijah finally released his frustration and pounded his fist in the wall. It obviously hurt, but that only fueled his unknown irritation. Baron stopped short at seeing this. 

"Hey, what's up?"

"Where is he?" the young Raven growled. "All this crap going on and Cain is still missing."

Baron shrugged. "Well, he probably has his reasons. What does it matter anyway?"

Elijah blinked and turned to his comrade. "What do you mean?"

"We are all Ravens. Even if we are a clan, we still have to look out for numero uno." He folded his arms. "You don't need a recluse Raven to take care of you like a baby, right?"

Elijah blinked. Come to think of it, he was a Raven before he even met Cain. True, Cain had trained him to be better, but he was still his own man. He did whatever he wanted.

"Right. No, you're absolutely right. I've been thinking about this too hard." He slapped Baron on the shoulder. "I'm going to get a drink. You want to come?"

"Can't. Remember the city is being locked down until the damages are minimized?"

"Damn!"

* * *

"Both Majectic Force and Blood Omen are gone. Now only we remain." 

Ellie and Charles regrouped after the devestation of the city by the two former clan. During that time, the two had been doing a little recon work to determine their situation as well as the change of the balance of power.

"Nightwatch and the Death Dealers." Ellie said from her terminal. "If anything, this will sure be dramatic."

Charles was standing by a windowsill in the hanger. "We'll meet them at Silent Line."

Ellie looked up. "What makes you say that?"

"Because that's just what they want." he said without turning away. "Otherwise, they would have attacked you and the other out there. Their objective was to take out the two remaining clans and leave us as the last."

Though technically not the two clans, Nightwatch and Death Dealers were the two higest ranked clans. The others below we either clans just forming or groups of Ravens that worked together loosely, but were really considered a true clan.

"A showdown?"

"Yep." Charles grinned thoughtfully. "And what better place and prize that Silent Line?"

"I see." Ellie looked back and her console. "As I said, dramatic."

Charles finally moved away from the window. "We'll have to get everyone prepped and ready."

"That may be a problem." Ellie replied. "Koemai was hospitalized and Cain is still missing. That's two Ravens down."

The lead Raven folded his arms. "We'll just have to hope they come back in time. But if not, we have to be ready to go without them."

Ellie stopped in her work and shot her head up at him. "What? We can't do that."

"Why not?" Charles said passively.

The raven-haired woman narrowed her eyes. "Fighting clan for clan is understandable. But when you're two men short, chances of survival drop a good several degrees below."

Charles turned around until his side was facing her. "If it comes down to that, then we may have to just make a break for it."

Ellie blinked. "Run?"

Charles shook his head. "I'd rather not consider it just yet." He turned around to her. "We still have time. Let's just hope the Hands of God return."

Ellie nodded, but made no reply.

* * *

In the hill overlooking the city, a single figure stood alone looking down. His eyes widened as he examined the damage. 

_'What has happened?'_

The sharp eyes of the viewer soon looked over to the wasteland, viewing the rubble and the virtual carcasses of ACs. His eyes widened again at the machine designations. _Mobius and Cursed One..._ _'Those are two top Ravens. What the hell happened here?'_ The figure's head lowered. _'I was only gone a short time and this happens?'_ Yet he knows that this...was the just the beginning...of the end.


	28. A Thin Line

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

_AN: These chapters are coming up too slowly. I'm going to have to kick it into overdrive_

Chap. 27

In a helicopter carrier holding his AC, Elijah waited while it flew in to the target area. Waited, but not patiently. Already, his fingers were drumming on the control joystick as he sat in Havoc. _'Hurry up…'_ The helicopter finally reach the target area; a military facility. His mission was to enter inside the facility and destroy the generator. But an energy shield protected the generator, so he had to destroy the shield generators inside first. Now the problem with that is that each one would most likely be heavily guarded. 'Oh well. No one said this would be easy.'

_Main system. Engaging combat mode._

Havoc disconnected from the transport helicopter and plummeted to the ground. Elijah activated the boosters in order to cushion his landing. He landed before the entrance, but Havoc moved away to the side. The facility was in lock down so he had to find another way in. Luckily, he had seen one on the way down. It was a metal grating that leads into one of the circulation systems and hopefully into the facility itself. He saw the grating leveled on the ground and fired a single shot, blowing the grating open. Havoc dove in and stepped into what appeared to be the ventilation system. He followed it to another opening and with another shot he was through. Finding himself in an empty storage area, Elijah checked his area map radar to determine where he was. As luck would have it, he had arrived a good meter from the first shield generator.

'_Not bad at all. Must be my lucky day.'_

Unknown to the Raven inside, another transport helicopter was approaching the facility as well, holding with it an AC of its own.

* * *

_Hospital_

Diana sat still next to unconscious, but resting Koemai. It was late night, but she hadn't moved since the others left hours ago. She had drifted asleep through the night, but she was never able to rest long and wound up continuing her nightly vigil over Koemai. Her thoughts kept her active with memories of the things the two of them had went through together prevalent in her mind, starting with when they first met.

It was in a local bar…

------------

"Can I buy you a drink?"

"Not too many pick up lines, huh?"

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

"Well then, how about this? Go away."

Click… 

"A gun? Isn't that move a little sudden?"

Click… 

"? Heh... So, now what?"

"Now, I buy us a drink."

"You know what, I think I'll take you up on that, Raven."

"What gave it away?"

"Your eyes…they're deadly."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Raven."

"Diana."

"Koemai."

----------

And it has been a whirlwind ever since. She smiled lightly as the thoughts of their dates and encounters flashed through her mind. As time grew on, she felt the attraction and desire to be with him grow strong within her. And she knew that he felt the same way. The wedding between Cain and Aria made it clearer than anything. She loved him and wanted to be with him always.

Perhaps he didn't feel the same…

---------

"I think we should move in together."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"Koemai. We've been together for about four and a half years. Don't you think it's time?"

"Isn't that moving a bit too fast?"

"Too fast? Are you serious?"

"I'm just saying that we shouldn't rush into this."

"Rush? You know what, forget I asked."

"Hey, don't take it the wrong way."

"Then tell me, what way should I take it?"

"What are you getting so angry about?"

"You don't want to live with me because you think its rushing? That sounds like a bad excuse."

"A bad ex…? Who are you to tell me what's a bad excuse!"

"I thought you loved me!"

"What? Are you serious! How can you be stupid enough to ask that!"

Needless to say, the conversation deteriorated from there. Meaningless words were said, feelings were hurt and in the end, Koemai stormed out. The argument was the start of the deterioration of their relationship. At the time, she believed that he didn't want to live with her because he didn't really love her. But that wasn't the case at all. Koemai just wasn't ready and truthfully, neither was she. She had forgotten the single factor that they were Ravens and thus open to many dangers of which they may not survive. Then when Aria was thought to have been dead and Cain dropped into utter despair, the friction grew between them, eventually causing them to separate in anger.

---------------

'_God, I was so stupid.'_ She brushed a finger over his brow and then rested her head beside him. She felt nervous right now. _No…Not nervous... Afraid…_ The same fear that prompted her to want to move in with Koemai to begin with. The fear that she would lose him. She wanted to keep him close so that she would never see him disappear. But she wasn't strong enough. The fact that he was lying there was proof of that. She didn't understand how Cain and Aria made it work. Surely that fear must have been present in them as well. She didn't like comparing herself to them, but it always sprang to mind. _'Maybe that's the problem.'_ It was just that those two seemed happy together, despite being Ravens. Maybe those times together were all that mattered. She nuzzled her head across his chest, her eyes now closed.

_'Just this time…'_

"Excuse us miss, but we have to get started."

The woman eyes snapped open and she looked toward the window. She hadn't even realized that she dozed off and it was now well into the morning. She rose up to leave so that the doctors could get to work but before she moved away, Diana bent down and gave the unconscious man a light kiss on the lips.

_'Be safe, my love. I mean it.'_

* * *

_Hanger_

'_That'd the last time I work for Mirage. I mean it this time.'_

Baron had just arrived from a hectic mission with his White Wolf AC and the damage was clearly apparent; a tread when it came to Mirage's missions. Of course he knew that what he said earlier wasn't going to be true. Mirage was one of the biggest corporations (if not, the biggest) around and they supplied a large amount of mission for Ravens. Not that it wasn't possible, but there was no reason to. He was just venting on his mission. He was sent to a forest area to deal with some invaders when the opposition became a bit more than he anticipated. He had just managed to use up all his ammo by the time they finally withdrew. Needless to say, Baron had just barely managed to get through it alive. _'Oh well. At least they weren't cheap about it'_ he grinned as he held up his credits. Leaving the AC and the garage, he began to ponder over what to do with it when he absentmindedly looked over to the right and then blinked in realization.

"Hey, he must have come back after all."

* * *

_Facility_

**KABO****OOOMM!**

Another shield generator destroyed, Havoc continued on his path of destruction. Opening the gate that would lead to the central generator itself, he continued on. _'This mission is almost over'_ he thought with a smile. He had never been on a high level mission before alone and he believed he was doing a good job. Some earlier obstacles had damaged his machine and it took him a bit to get through them, but overall he was still in good shape with his AP reading 6987. _'Guess all that training really paid off. I should thank…'_ He stopped himself, remembering that his mentor had disappeared. A frown came over his face and he pushed the thoughts aside. _'Just focus on the mission. More like finishing it.'_ A slew of energy beams shot at him from down the corridor and Elijah swung Havoc around one of the corners to avoid them. _'I am really getting tired of this'_ he muttered in thought and he timed the energy shots. When they stopped briefly, Havoc wheeled back around and fired on the cannons. Two explosions down the far end of the corridor verified that he hit his mark, but there were still energy blasts flying at him.

'_I'm out of range. Guess I'll have to do it the hard way.'_

Boosters a flare, Havoc slid down the corridor, taking the shots that were hit his armor. Elijah grit his teeth each time a shot hit him, but continued on until finally, his FCS locked on to the cannon and the machine gun did the rest. Elijah then switched to the area map screen. The final generator was just beyond the gateway around the corner. It seemed simple enough, but he had to tread cautiously. He had already used up a good portion of the ammo of his machine gun and his EO hadn't fully recharged yet. _'No need to rush, at least not yet.'_ Havoc strode quickly through the hall until he approached the gate. Locking in, the gate opened up to him revealing a wide room. Overhead, there was an equally wide skylight opening. The sun shone through from above, brightening the room. On the other end was the generator, waiting to be destroyed. _'This is way, way too easy'_ he thought. Havoc remained still in place as Elijah looked over to see if there were any traps. But there were none in sight and the generator hummed across the way.

'_Oh well. Guess I'm really just lucky.'_

Havoc didn't take so much as a single step when he heard the rattling sounds of a helicopter. A single object descended through the opening and smashed down in front of Havoc. A Raven. And not just any Raven.

"Cain!"

Indeed, it was the white AC Glaive that stood before him, its yellow eyes gleaming straight at him.

"Where the hell have you been?" Elijah yelled over the comm, completely forgetting where he was. But it came back in a flash when Glaive raised its right arm, aiming the energy cannon at him.

"Wh-What's this?"

"My mission is to protect this generator and stop any intruders from doing so."

Elijah blinked in shock. "Wh-What? Are you serious?"

"We each have missions to complete. Prepare yourself!"

_**SHHHHHKKKKKKKKKKK!**_


	29. Trial

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

_AN: Finally, after several long months, it's returned. Back for your entertainment._

-

Chap. 28

-

_**BBBBBSSSSSHHHHHHH!**_

The blast of the energy cannon exploded of the wall as Havoc dodged the now relentless Glaive. Elijah gritted his teeth as he maneuvered the machine away. Since meeting Glaive here, he had been hacked at, shot at, and nearly plastered against the walls by the white machine, with the pilot keeping silence as he attacked without letup. Elijah opened the com-link again to try and talk to him.

"Cain! What's up with you?"

The white machine seemed to glare and the Moonlight blade came to life. _'Not again'_ he grimaced mentally as the blue-white blade came flying at him. Snapping the controls back, Havoc managed to avoid the deadly swipe, which cut across the wall. But as soon as he did, Glaive lifted up his grenade rifle and fired. The concussion blast hit Havoc dead on and nearly hurled the machine to the ground. Inside, Elijah growled as the heat scorched him within. _'What the hell?'_ Elijah had practiced and trained with Cain, so he knew when he was serious or not. But he had never seen him fight like this before, much less against him. Not even when he…borrowed…Cain's Moonlight blade. On instinct, he pulled the trigger, causing Havoc to lift its machine gun and fire back. Glaive was too close for the bullets to miss, but it didn't stay long enough for it to do much damage as he pulled away to the side.

"Hey!" Elijah spat. "I'm starting to believe you're actually trying to kill me."

-"I am."-

Elijah's eyes widened, unaware that Glaive's OB boosters had flared and the white machine was now barreling at him, laserblade alit again. Again on instinct, Elijah guided Havoc to the side and out of the path of the attack. But Glaive's extensions shot out, causing the machine to whirl around and attack again with a energy blast while Havoc was still flying away. The blast hit the leg, causing Havoc to crash into the wall. Elijah groaned, but had no time to dwell on the pain, for Glaive was coming at him again. Igniting the boosters, Elijah flew upward, once again dodging the white machine's wrath.

-"Do you know why Armored Core pilots are named Ravens?"-

Elijah was surprised again as he landed the machine. He was ready for whatever his mentor had in store, but Glaive was still for a change and the pilot within continued to speak.

-"Because ravens are a symbol of an approaching death. That is why we are feared. That is why we are called." Glaive turned to glare at him. "We are harbingers of death. And when you face a Raven, know that death is a constant."-

Elijah shook his head in disbelief. _'He's serious. But why now?'_

The blade arm of Glaive slowly lifted and its weapon slowly ignited. Elijah gripped the controls tightly, tensely waiting for the attack.

-"In that machine, you only have two goals. Completing your mission and surviving."-

Glaive charged and Havoc fired…

* * *

_Hospital_

The only thing worse than being in an operation room under the knife is being in the waiting room outside the operating room. At least, that's what Diana felt now. The waiting was more than frustrating and she was a minute away from demolishing the ticking clock on the wall. _'What f&)ing moron decided to put an old clock in the waiting room?'_ But she knew what was really bothering her. It has been nearly two hours since they began the operation and there had been no word on Koemai still. The light was still on, so they were still operating. _But for this long? Was there something wrong? Was he alright?_

'_I'm going crazy here.'_

With a huff, the redhead stood up from her seat and over to drink machine. Grabbing the can, she returned to her seat and began to drink. She was thirstier than she thought and pretty soon, she had emptied the can altogether. Dismally, she looked at the can then the clock and then the room. So much was uncertain now and she was beginning to lose it. _'How does Cain deal with it?'_ she pondered. She knew the wreck he was in when they thought Aria was dead. But after that, when he found her in a coma, how did he go on with her like that? Would I have to go through that? So many questions with no answers... Her hand began to tighten around the can she was holding until she remembered that night.

After the pool game…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Maybe we should call it a night."

After Elijah and Baron left, the two decided to leave the bar. It wasn't that late in the evening, but the two of them had nothing else to do. At least at first.

"Wait a minute."

Koemai looked over at Diana, who seemed to be staring off in the distance. When she kept silent, he faced her fully.

"What is it?"

The woman turned to him and gave him a light smile. "Come with me."

Koemai looked at her strangely, but followed her regardless. Moving down a few blocks, they arrived at their destination, which caused Koemai to be all the more confused, and perhaps a little wary.

"Diana. This is your place."

"Mmhm." she replied as she opened the door.

He didn't budge. "Hold on. I don't want…"

She cut him off. "Before you start, just come in please."

Koemai narrowed his eyes and then finally conceded to entering the dorm. Closing the door, he saw her seat herself on the couch. He would have thought that she was coming on to him. Hell, that's what he figured when they arrived here. But her face was looking away and her eyes seemed somewhat distant.

"Sit."

Koemai carefully sat down opposite of her, keeping his gaze on her beautiful frame, but wondering just what was on her mind. Her eyes sharply curved over to him and she gave another light smile

"I know that look, Koemai. You're wondering what I am thinking."

"It has crossed my mind." he retorted.

She looked away again. "I wanted to say….that I'm sorry."

More confusion flashed in Koemai's mind and on his face as Diana continued.

"I pressed you about moving in together." she explained. "You just weren't ready and I'm sorry."

Silence reigned between them and Diana looked over at him. But for once, she was unable to gauge his thoughts, as his eyes became blank. Slowly, his jaw began to tighten, causing Diana to wonder even more. _'Was he upset? Why should he be?'_

"I can't…"

"What?"

Koemai lowered his head and his hand unconsciously clenched into a fist. "I can't believe that I'm a Raven. I'm such a wuss. The truth is that I…I was afraid." He paused for a moment. "You brought it up and I panicked. I should have been ready, but I just…"

Diana was stunned by this revelation, but not surprised. The truth was that they both took the situation badly and it ended up in hurting them both. The woman placed a hand over his fist, soothing it away.

"Can we…just start over?"

Koemai lifted his head up to hers and their eyes met. A smile slowly drifted up his lips as he saw her, lovingly for the first time in a long while.

"I'd like that. No more being afraid."

Diana smiled broadly and suddenly stood up from her place. Circling around in front of him, she reached up her chest and began unbuttoning her shirt. Koemai was bit baffled by this behavior.

"W-what are you doing?"

She dropped her shirt on the floor, with her chest now covered only a red bra. She looked at him amusedly, but didn't smile. Rather, she reached down and began lifting of his shirt. He didn't resist it and she began speaking. "If we are going to start over, I would like to start it on the right foot."

She pulled it off fully and tossed it on the ground next to hers, leaving Koemai with his undershirt on. She then bent down and pried off his shoes and followed by kicking hers off. With that done, Diana turned around and sat in his lap. It was only then that Koemai realized what she wanted. With a smile, he wrapped one of his arms around her slender body while he hit the light switch with the other. In the shadows of darkness, the two shifted together to the side, now lying down on the couch. Though neither could see it, they felt each other smile, as they felt each others' warmth.

"I…I've missed this." Diana said lightly.

Koemai held her closer and whispered. "I've missed you."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Her hand loosened up and she simply placed the can down. She couldn't afford to give up hope now. _'No more being afraid.'_ That was what Koemai said and she would stick to it. She would not give up. Not while he was still in there, breathing. She would wait for as long as it took. Her eyes stared back up at the clock.

_'I guess it you and me again, clock…'_

* * *

_Unknown_

"So that's it, huh?"

"_Fitting. From the flames of destruction will be born the Horsemen of Apocalypse."_

"No need for poetry just yet. Once we cross Silent Line…" "And what of our rivals?" 

"There is no need for concern. One of them is out, injured from the conflict with Majestic Force and Blood Omen."

"_**So it appears that brought about an extra bonus after all."**_

"**They will be of no consequence now."**

"I agree. That is why I went out to scout the terrain. Here's the data."

"Hm. A wasteland…No hiding areas…" 

"_The element of surprise doesn't exist."_

"**Then we shall rely on speed. We can defeat the remaining Ravens of Nightwatch and head to the bunker without too much difficulty."**

"Let us prepare then." _'Glaive. You will taste death. Reaper will see to it this time.'_

* * *

_Facility_

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHC!**

The bullet fire tore through the air and at the white core, while Glaive itself continued its advance with his saber lit. Havoc blasted off to the side and Glaive sliced out. He knew what was coming next. Glaive now aimed his energy cannon and fired at the retreating Raven. Havoc dodged aside and Glaive charged again. Eljiah smirked somewhat. _'You're getting predictable.'_ He awaited the glow of the blade and sure enough it came. Havoc's boosters ignited, but instead of dodging off to the side, he jumped right over Glaive's head. Havoc landed and began to turn around, but Glaive was gone.

_'Son of a…'_

Elijah realized too late that Glaive had continued on after his first strike and was now circling around. Looking at his radar, Elijah saw the swift approach of the Raven. He realized that his mistake was that he forgot to take into account both Glaive's extension booster and back extra boosters. The result was a machine that was very highly maneuverable as he was about to find out.

_**SHHHHRAAAANNNGGGGGGG!**_

Havoc boosted off to the side, but it wasn't enough and soon, Elijah's world spun in a flash of light, sparks and motion. Glaive's blade had cut in deep on the left, severing the arm totally and nearly penetrating the core. Elijah could have sworn that he actually saw the tip of the blade fly through his cockpit. His reflexes had saved him, but it cost him an arm. Looking down briefly, he saw the entire left arm on the floor, along with the blade that was attached to it. _'He really is trying to kill me.'_ Elijah couldn't believe this. Cain wasn't the type to try and kill his opponent. Normally, he would work to disable his opponent, as he saw killing as an absolute last result. It was what made him unique as a Raven. _'What the heck happened to him?'_

_"Ravens are a symbol of an approaching death… We are harbingers of death…"_

Elijah tightened his hand over the trigger. He may have lost his arm and blade, but he still had his right arm, machine gun, EO option, and missile. That alone made him more equipped than the white machine. However, Glaive had the speed advantage as well as forceful attacks. And Elijah wasn't used to his new energy cannon weapon. Normally, he would deal with a solid grenade blast from the white machine, knowing that it had slow reload time. While that was the case here, this energy weapon was much faster than the grenade launcher and thus the timing was different. Speaking of which…

_**BBBBBSSSSSHHHHHHH!**_

Havoc launched away from the energy blast, but the shockwave threw him off a bit. Regardless, Havoc managed to align itself enough to lock on to Glaive. _'Fine. Have it your way.'_ Hitting the EO switch, Havoc raised his weapon and fired. His ammo was low, but he still had enough for a fight. At the same time, the EO sprang up from the back of the AC and fired in unison with his gun. Glaive soared around the fire, but suddenly changed directions and came right at Havoc. Havoc backed away, continuing to fire on Glaive. Glaive took in the damage as he closed in and Elijah pulled his machine away from the imminent laserblade slash. As he backed off, he looked at the attacker in question. What made him change direction like that? Glaive could have easily soared away from the shots for a long while. But then again, Glaive was acting more aggressively he had ever seen before. But there still had to be some key to this.

"_In that machine, you only have two goals. Completing your mission and surviving."_

Two things… Well, it looks like surviving is out of the question. So that leaves completing my miss… Wait a second. A blast from Glaive's weapons staved off his train of thought for a moment, but he knew what he had to do now. Placing aside his thoughts of survival, he aimed. Glaive continued to charge at him, but it didn't matter.

_He had a mission to complete…_

**CHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHCHC!**

The bullets flew straight at Glaive and passed right over its shoulder. The fire continued on behind him, hitting the Raven's true target, the generator. He unloaded the last of his machine gun fire into it and the generator soon erupted into fire and exploded. _'Gotcha.'_ Glaive was now in close with its blade extended and Elijah prepared for the worse. But to his surprise, Glaive stopped in mid-attack and slowly backed away.

-"Mission failed. Returning to base."-

Glaive turned away and headed for the exit. Elijah sighed with relief that his battle was over. And a good thing too as his generator had chosen now to break down, power fading away in the machine. But before it cut off totally, he received a transmission from Cain.

-"You are a true Raven now, Elijah."-


	30. Preparation

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

_AN: This came up faster than I expected, but so much the better_

-

Chap. 29

-

Elijah exited his AC as it completed its docking sequence. Looking up, he examined the damage done to Havoc. Needless to say, he wasn't going to be in action for a while. _'Damn. He really went all out.'_ Despite that, he was a little pleased to have seen what his mentor was really capable of, even if he was on the receiving end of it. Speaking of which, Elijah looked over to an adjourning hanger to see Glaive settled in its place. On the ground below, Cain stood looking up at it alone. Elijah approached him from behind, knowing well enough that Cain was well aware of his presence.

"So…how the weather?"

Cain closed his eyes andshook his head witha wistful smile, to which Elijah grinned back. Looking back at his AC he shook his head. "You know, you didn't have to trash my machine so badly."

Cain kept his face looking toward his own machine. "I was serious when I said I was trying to kill you." He paused. "I had to be."

Elijah lifted a hand to his shoulder, which he had to patch up after his battle with Glaive. "Why?"

"To teach you a lesson." He paused again, turning the side of his face to Elijah before turning back. "Your last lesson…"

The young Raven's eyes widened as he turned back to his mentor. "My last?"

Cain took a step away. "I have taught you everything I know and you have become skilled in your own rights now. So there is no reason for me to be your teacher anymore."

Elijah stared at Cain's back, somewhat stunned by this news. He knew that he had learned much since they first met, but to hear that he was finished was…surprising.

"Really? Hm, I never thought…"

Elijah soon became unsure of what to say and simply stayed quiet. A minute of silence passed between the now former teacher and student before Cain turned to Elijah.

"Now we have work to do."

Elijah awoke from his stupor. "Work?"

"Silent Line." he answered. "We have to gather as much intel as possible. Knowing Ellie, she probably has already scouted the area." He began walking away in order to get started. "We have to help prep all the ACs and give everyone as much advantages as possible."

"Okay." Something soon hit him. "Wait. All the ACs?"

"Yeah." Cain nodded. "Problem?"

Elijah gave him a strange look. "Don't you know…about what happened to Koemai?"

"I know." he replied. "But he's still going."

"Are you serious? " he exclaimed. "Cain, he's going through an operation right now. It's unknown if he'll even walk again, much less pilot an AC."

The elder Raven replied simply. "He'll make it. He always does. Walk or not, he will be in this mission."

"Ookay. Well I better get to work then." Cain nodded and continued on, but Elijah spoke up. "But before you go, I have two questions."

Another smile came on Cain's face. "Hm. Where was I and would I have really killed you."

Elijah frowned. "Wild guess."

Cain started solemnly. "Where I was, I'll tell you another time. As for would I have really killed you…?"

"Yes?"

A third smile. "If you had fought one wit below your usual abilities, I would have given you a good scar to remind you."

"Yeah, that sounds like you."

* * *

_Hospital _

After another half an hour, the red light of the operating room clicked off. Diana shot up from her seat and nervously awaited news on Koemai's condition. The doors opened and the operating doctor emerged before her.

"Well?" she asked nervously.

The doctor nodded to her and smiled lightly. "The operation was a complete success."

The doctor wasn't ready for the explosion of joy from the woman as she embraced him tightly. Tears streamed down her face as she cried.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The doctor flushed as he slowly pried the emotional woman off of him (Which was hard to do given the fact that she was quite attractive). "As much as I would like to take all the credit, it wasn't all me. Your boyfriend's a tough one. Guess you Ravens have tough skin or something."

Diana lowered her head sheepishly, realizing that she was embarrassing herself with displays. "Yeah, something…" Clearing her throat. "When will I be able to see him?"

The doctor sighed. "Tomorrow morning. We still have to run a few tests to make sure everything is okay, but once that's been settled, you will be able to visit."

"Thank you, doctor."

* * *

_Hanger_

"Looks like we're all here, mostly."

The clan regrouped hours later during the night in the hanger. The majority of them had spent the day working on their own assignments for preparation for their mission into Silent Line. Diana was there as well, having been told that Koemai would be ready for visitors by tomorrow morning.

"Where have you been, Cain?" Baron asked shortly.

"Personal business."

The bulky Raven snorted. "You picked a hell of a time for it."

"We have bigger concerns." Charles interrupted, bringing everyone back to the issue at hand. With everyone in attention, Charles continued. "Ellie has already scouted what she could on the terrain."

Ellie stood up and laid out a map schematic. "Yeah. It a basic wasteland. A couple of craters, scattered debris, but no hidden areas." She took a breath and continued. "When we start fighting, it's going to be all or nothing."

"How can you be sure the Death Dealers will show up?" Baron asked.

"They will." Cain answered. "They want the secrets behind the Line as much as any Raven. Plus…there are other issues."

A few of the Ravens gave him strange looks, but they where dismissed when Charles continued. "Which is why we need as much intelligence on their machines fast as possible. Their strengths, weaknesses, everything."

"I'm already on it." Surprisingly, this came from Elijah, who then tossed a datapad on the table. "This is what I have so far."

The group looked it over and their eyebrows lifted. "Hey, this isn't half bad." Ellie remarked with a smile. "Good job."

The young Raven smiled as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm not done yet. There's still more I need to figure out." He then blinked. "Which reminds me." Pulling out another pad from his back pocket, he passed it to Cain. "Here."

"What's this?"

"Analysis on Reaper." he answered. "I figured since you two are going to be duking it out, you'd want some info."

Cain stared at his former student with a sense of amazement. _'Hm, he's smarter than he lets on.'_ Looking back at the pad, he juggled it a bit and then handed it back. "Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I know everything about that machine."

Elijah shrugged as he shoved it back. "Well in that case, how about a friendly suggestion. You could use this configuration to your core. It will be much more battle capable against Reaper."

Cain's eyes narrowed as he looked back at the pad. Switching it to another screen, he saw what Elijah was talking about. "Hm. This is…" His eyes scanned over it continuously. "I can work with this. There is one extra thing I need to equip to Glaive, but this will be all the better. Thank you."

Charles smiled over the progress. "Well it looks like we're off to a good foot. The contract states the date in two weeks, so that's how long we have to prepare."

"We have one problem." Baron indicated. "We're still a Raven short."

"Koemai will be there." Cain replied.

"Cain, I don't know about that." Diana spoke. She had been silent throughout the exchange as her mind was on something else. Someone else… "He just got out of surgery. I don't think he'll make it."

"He'll make it." Cain asserted.

The woman frowned deeply. "Are you crazy? He's been hurt really badly. Even if he does recover enough, he won't be strong enough to pilot an AC against the Death Dealers, much less into Silent Line."

Cain shook his head. "I'm going to adjust his core to compensate, but he will be able to pilot in time."

"I can't believe you!" she exploded suddenly. "He could be killed! Don't you care what happens to him! Just because your wife…!"

The words were out of her mouth a moment too late and she immediately regretted it. Cain's eyes looked up at her sharply with a mixture of anger and sorrow. The others looked at her warily and then at Cain, not saying a word. At this point, everyone knew that Aria was a sore spot for Cain and Diana had just pressed the button.

"Cain…I'm sorry…" she stammered. "I didn't mean…"

Cain said nothing in return and Charles moved quickly to break the tension. "We've done enough for today. We better continue our plans and prepare."

Everyone parted from the table and went to their own work. Diana remained, watching Cain walk away in silence. While that was usual normal in his case, what wasn't normal was the fact that he seemed to be giving off a negative aura.

_Very sore spot…_

* * *

_Later_

After the group separated, Ellie moved back over with Charles to talk with him privately. The Raven in question was currently standing beside the hanger door; arms folded in wait. _Waiting for her apparently…_

"That was pretty tense." she started off.

"Yeah." Charles nodded in agreement. "But not unexpected. Things have been unstable as of late."

Ellie moved out into the open and stood beside him, mimicking his pose. "All from one mission. Silent Line…"

"Still having doubts?"

"We all have doubts." she answered. "It's whether or not we let them affect us that the difference."

"Hm."

"How about you?" Curving and eye to him, she gave a slight grin. "Any doubts from our fearless leader?"

"Amusing." he chuckled lightly. His tone turned serious. "But in truth, I left my doubts some time ago."

"Let me guess. Since you saw it."

'It' as in the city beyond Silent Line. She knew what it felt like to be so close. She wanted to go all the way next time. In Charles' case, it was beginning to border on obsession, so much to the point where doubt didn't exist for him. Only the objective, the goal…

"Right."

Sighing, Ellie turned to look at the sky. The stars twinkled dully in the semi-cloudy sky. "I hope the others have that stability."

"Whatever works."


	31. Drives

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 30

-

"Cain…Can we talk?"

Cain was currently working on his AC in the hanger. It was early the next day after they had conversed on their plans and she expected to find him early. It had taken her a good minute to approach him. After last night, she was unsure on how he would react to her. She had never really seen him angry or upset so she was at a disadvantage. He continued working with his back to her as though he didn't hear her.

"I deserve that." she sighed. "I only came to apologize." He didn't seem to react, but she continued anyway. "I…I just don't want Koemai to be hurt again. And then you suggested that he was still going on the mission, I just freaked out." She looked over at him and repeated. "Anyway, I'm sorry."

Cain was still as she finished speaking and Diana was getting the feeling that she wasn't getting through to him. She turned to move away, but was stopped by soft speaking.

"I'm going to tell you something. Something that no one knows." He lifted himself up from his work and turned to her halfway.

"It's about Aria."

Diana stopped and looked back at him. His eyes were still hidden away, but she didn't need to see them to know that he was in some sort of stress.

"Go ahead."

"You already know that Aria is in a coma because of her accident." That was obvious. After all, she was there when it happened. His voice soon became graven. "What you don't know is that it's worse than that."

"What do you mean?" she questioned. It didn't make since. Aria was in a coma. How could it get worse than what it already is?

"I didn't find out about it until a couple of years ago. Usually in the case of a coma patient, they either revive or they eventually fade away. But Aria was suffering from a rare case. Apparently, she had additional internal injuries that complicated it. The doctors were able to patch those injuries up, but now she is fading faster." His fist clenched tightly and his head lowered. "Within another year, she will die."

"Oh my god…"

His head lifted slightly. "But they also informed me of an experimental procedure. Having something to do with accelerating brain and nerve cells. But the point is that there's a chance to save. Not only that, but the treatment could actually allow her to revive fully. But there were two problems. The first was cost. I needed to secure a huge amount of credits in order to pay for it. That was one of the reasons I began piloting again, although I did it in way where there was little risk to me."

She nodded at his reasoning. "Minor missions. But they don't pay that much."

"I know. I had to push myself. Not a difficult feat for me really." he smiled. "I have a knack for doing that."

"What was the second problem?"

"The treatment itself. It uses some principals of the past human PLUS experiments. Because of that, it's unknown if it will truly work." He hesitated. "There is also a possibility…that it will kill her."

Diana moved close to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I…I had no idea."

Cain turned to her fully and Diana almost backed away from the intensity in his eyes. Yet they were opposite of his soft voice. "I understand exactly how you feel. I just wanted you to know this."

"That's rough."

Diana's eyes widened when she turned to the source of the new voice. Elijah was standing by the sideline, leaning against some of the equipment. Cain didn't seem surprised but then again, he wasn't the type to show it even if he was.

"Yes, it is." he commented briefly to Elijah before turning to address Diana. "Diana. I should be the one apologize. Koemai has just gotten through his operation and I was thoughtlessly talking about him coming back into battle without considering your feelings. For that, I am sorry." He let out a light chuckle. "But you know the truth as well as I do."

She closed her eyes and smiled. "I'm afraid I do. He will want to continue. Even if he only has one arm and no legs, he would still want to go."

Elijah shook his head. "Lunatic."

"That's just Koemai for you." Cain replied.

Diana moved away and crossed her arms around her body. "I just don't want to lose him again."

"Not to sound self-piteous, but just remember." Cain placed a hand on her shoulder. "There are worse things."

"Yeah."

* * *

_Hospital _

"You're awake."

Di…" His vision cleared and he was able to clearly see the woman sitting in a chair beside the his bed. He let out a gentle smile before his vision caught two other figures behind her. Cain and Elijah. "And the whole motley crew, heh."

"You look like crap." Elijah grinned as he folded his arms.

"Hey, at least I have an excuse." the injured Raven replied. "What's yours?"

The younger Raven retorted. "Just be lucky I don't beat up on sick guys in hospitals, although in your case, I may make an exception."

"You could try, punk. You could try." He turned his gaze to Cain, who was standing by the wall with his arms folded. _'As usual.'_ "Do you always have to stand there like some damned gargoyle?"

"Someone has to. How are you feeling?"

"Like a building dropped on me." Koemai moaned. He then blinked. "Oh yeah that's right. One did. What the heck happened anyway?"

Cain stepped forward to explain. "The Death Dealers tricked Majestic Force into battling Blood Omen and then took them both out."

"Sneaky. So it's just us and them, huh?" He turned his head toward the window. "And I'll bet they'll be waiting for us at Silent Line."

"Yeah."

"What do you mean, 'us'?" Elijah shot in. "You're stuck in bed."

Koemai ignored him. "How long do we have?"

"Two weeks."

"Hm." Koemai lifted his arm gingerly and clenched it into a fist. "It's a long shot, but I can work up a week of rest here and that should give me something to work with when we go."

Elijah snapped. "Are you serio…?"

"Could you two give us a minute?" Diana said suddenly

Cain gave an understanding nod. "Sure. We have work to do." He turned to the door and waved. "Take care, old friend."

"Who are you calling old?" Koemai growled. "Just get out of here. And take the brat with you."

"Why you…!" Elijah was ready to smash his face in, but he was stopped when Cain grabbed his collar and walked out, dragging the younger Raven with him while closing the door behind. Now alone, Diana gazed down upon her love.

"Koemai. You don't have to do this."

"Are you kidding?" he grinned. "And miss the opportunity to get past Silent Line?"

Diana shook her head, ignoring the bravado. "Please listen. You don't have to do this. We all know you're tough. Hell, even the doctor said that. But if you push yourself too far, you may…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the last sentence, but he knew what she was saying. Reaching up, he grasped her hand lightly.

"Don't worry about me."

"That's just it!" she nearly shrieked. "I can't help but worry. You almost died and I don't want that to happen. I…I don't want to lose you. Not after all we've been through." She lowered her head to his chest, careful not to hurt him. "I love you. I love you so much."

Her face was turned away from him, but he could tell that she was tearing up. "Di, listen. I love you too. That's the main reason why I am going."

Diana choked softly. "What?"

"We are part of a clan. As such, in order for us to survive, we need to be together." His hand moved to her hair where he began to lightly stroke it. "Yeah, I know it sounds corny, but I need to be there to protect you."

"Koemai…"

"When you go, I want to be there with you." His hand slid to her cheek and he lifted her face up so that she was looking at him face to face. "I don't want to be stuck in this bed while you and the others fight and die because I wasn't there."

"But what good will it do if you aren't at full strength?"

"Trust me." He reassured her. "I'm going. And I'll be ready." His palm continued to remain on her cheek. "But, I could use your help."

She gave him a smile. "Heh. You're just stubborn."

"And that's why you love me." he grinned back.

* * *

_Cortex Dormitory _

Charles sat alone in his room, looking over all the data that had been gathered by his clansmen. So far, it was all going well. Data on both the territory and their opponents were quite descriptive, so there was a lot to work with, strategy-wise. But there was still more to learn and even with the gathered information, they didn't know everything about what they would face within Silent Line.

Of this, he knew for a fact…

- - - - - - - - - - - -

_Flashback _

Charles looked grimly at the terrain before him. It was a wasteland terrain, with scattered trees and deserted buildings. He knew much about this particular place. Silent Line was quite famous among all the Ravens. It was called Silent Line because anyone trying to cross it would fall 'silent' within it. All attempts to get through have failed. It was as though anything going through simply vanished. It was like that area in the water in the Earth's past…What was it called?

Ah yeah, the Bermuda Triangle…

Discarding the thought, he double-checked his systems. And so far, everything was primed and ready. Looking to the side, he was accompanied by ACs Jumper and Draconis. Who their pilot's were, he didn't care. As the mission stated, the one who crossed the line first would be the one to get the reward so it was more of a race than a mission. But that didn't mean he would get reckless. As his AC's name states, he was a professional and he had to handle this coolly.

-"You may begin. Good luck Raven."-

Charles quickly flipped the systems on, activating the AC's combat mode. With a roar of booster fire, the three ACs stormed their way in. Jumper, being the lightest, was in the lead, with Professional and Draconis following behind. Soon, Draconis veered away in another direction and Jumper soared on further. Charles didn't mind. After all, he had to find his own way through. Draconis was probably doing that right now, while Jumper was probably hoping to be able to simply fly through without anything happening to him.

_A reckless mistake…_

**BOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHHHHH!**

Jumper was immediately shot by a massive grenade burst, knocking him out of his run and crashing onto the ground. As the machine struggled to rise, two more rounds of grenade fire floored it again and this time, Jumper crumbled into oblivion. Charles followed the path of the destructive fire and it led to one of the buildings. From behind it emerged a white bulky MT, unlike any he had ever seen before. It was arm with what looked like a massive cannon on its right arm. The machine turned to his direction and turned the weapon on to him. Charles realized that he was now the next target and shot off to the side just as the grenade burst came soaring at him.

"Showtime."

Stopping from its run, Professional took to the air and fired. Although he was equipped with a sniper rifle, he knew the power of his weapon wouldn't slow down the heavily armored MT. He would have to bid his time and take his openings when they came until he could finish this threat off. But that time would come as his shot hit the leg of the MT. _'Minimal damage at best, but it's the weakest point regardless.'_ Activating his hover extension, Professional continued to fire, with each shot hitting the knee joints of the machine while flowing through the air. The MT pursued him, switching off its grenade cannon and firing with what appeared to be chain gun weaponry. Professional had to weave through the fire all the while keeping his shots focused. This went on for quite some time, pushing him deeper into the line. He was then surprised when a single object flew out from the MT and slowly came toward him.

'_Crap. A large missile.'_

Deactivating the hover extensions, Profession landed on the dry ground where the MT unloaded a set of grenade bursts on him. The first one hit near its feet, causing Charles to lose control of his machine for a moment. But it was a moment too long for the second blast had collided right into him, knocking him back. The AC remained on its feet, but it was singed in front. Damage was minimal, but only because of the extra armor he had placed on it. Next time, he won't be so lucky. Charles continued with his earlier strategy, shooting the knee of the MT while dodging the fire. Meanwhile, the large missile continued to cruise toward the AC stealthily. As Professional continued to focus on the MT, the missile drew closer and closer until…

'_I don't think so.'_

Professional suddenly turned toward the missile flipped on his core's secondary functions. A beam of energy spat out from the core, hitting the missile and destroying it. He quickly returned his attention to the MT and fired again. The MT landed on the ground, but then it suddenly bent down on the ground, nearly collapsing. At last, his efforts were paying off. Professional began to take to the air when he saw it.

_'Another large missile? Where did that come from?'_

The missile was closing in and he couldn't use his core's missile interceptor so soon after the first time. In a rush, Charles dashed back, giving him some space to avoid the missile. But the projectile was still on him and getting close and he was running out of space. Not only that, but the MT had managed to recover and was in pursuit. Checking outward, he saw a several building structures, wrecked and abandoned like all the others. An idea clicked.

'_I better hurry it this is to work.'_

Activating his OB, Professional soared toward the building structure. He reached it and stood beside, but made no effort to hide behind it. Meanwhile, the missile was still following behind and closing it, with the MT behind it. The missile began to close in, but suddenly, Professional dashed off to the side, moving behind the building. The missile continued on until it exploded on the building. That was Charles cue. Arming his back dual grenade launcher, he fired upward at the building top. The explosion of the missile caused the building to fall in while the grenade shots pushed it over toward the MT. Professional boosted away as the building crashed and dust blew everywhere. Professional landed on the ground to survey the damage.

'_Well, that was interesting.'_

But it was far from over, for a round of chain gun fire shot out from the dust, hitting Professional on the arm. The MT emerged from the debris, continuing to fire on Professional. Charles grimaced. _'How is that thing still going?'_ The building hadn't dropped on it fully and it was only partially damaged. He motioned to fire with his rifle, only to find it missing from his grasp. The chain fire had shot the weapon right off and now it was lying damaged on the ground. And the MT was still coming at him full force.

"Gruah!"

Professional was now in retreat, with the MT shooting behind him with a combination of the chain gun and grenades. Charles piloted the machine through the buildings, avoiding the fire. But he knew that he would soon run out of places to run and then that machine would take him down. He turned the corner of a building and soared up into the air. He then began to rotate around, hoping that the MT wasn't too close.

_'Come on, come on!'_

Professional finally wheeled around and Charles activated his hover boosters and aimed with his grenade launcher. At the same time, the MT had come around the side of the building. Without waiting, Charles opened fire, hurling the destructive fireballs down at the MT. The MT was swarmed by the fire, but continued to advance. Charles continued firing, knowing that with all the damage the MT sustained, it couldn't last long against such an assault. The machine began to lock in its grenade cannon, but Charles was right. The continuous assault had done the white machine in and it fell back and exploded. The Raven gave a short sigh of relief, but it was cut off when booster sound caught his attention. Looking over to the side, his eyes widened with shock.

_'What the…another one?'_

The second MT wasted no time in firing upon him. Professional dodged once more, but the grenade shock sent the already weakened machine crashing into one of the buildings. Charles grunted painfully and made ready to move when he saw it.

Another grenade blast coming straight at him…

**KABOOM!**

"Guahhh!"

Professional was blown straight through the building, crashing on the opposite side. The front of the core was badly scorched, with parts sparking from the damage. Even the cockpit was partly exposed, revealing the badly injured pilot within. The flaming blast has scorched Charles right leg and arm with his uniform burnt up in several areas. As Charles struggled not to lose consciousness, he could hear the approaching steps of the MT from around the building. In haste, Charles moved his left arm, hoping that the controls weren't destroyed. It they were, he would share the same fate as Jumper. Professional began to rise up and Charles saw that the MT had not come across the building yet. Arming the dual grenade launchers on its back, Charles fired, not at the MT, but at the building itself. The blasts destroyed the building structure, causing it to crash down upon the MT in a billow of smoke and debris. He stood ready to fight in case this MT rose up, but that didn't happen.

'_Didn't think the same trick would work twice.'_

Rising up, Charles checked the damage to his machine. Needless to say, he was in pretty bad shape. Not only was he out of ammo, but his AP checked 1111. And to top it off, he was seeing problems with the radiator and damage to the generator. Continuing now would just be suicide. He would have no choice, but to abort. However, as he was checking the area, he gazed on beyond the terrain and it was then that he saw it.

The city…

Charles grimaced. He was halfway there. It couldn't have been no more than six minutes away on OB. But he couldn't. He was far too wounded and his AC too badly damaged. And without any weapons, he wouldn't make it the rest of the way, provided his machine didn't blow up on its own. He hated it; hated what he had to do. Something he had done only once in his career as a Raven.

He had to abort…

Wheeling his machine around, Charles boosted away from the city. As he did, he heard sound of fire and battle from behind. Using the rear monitor, he saw the second AC, Draconis, getting blown up by some force. A stream of energy fire pelted from out a bunker, destroying the AC. _'A bunker? There wasn't anything about it on the mission briefing.'_ Charles was too far away and his AC continued to soar away, but he was able to get a shadowy glimpse of the weapon within the bunker.

It was an AC…

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Present_

'_What was that?'_ There was something in there; something more powerful than the machines he and the other faced. He knew he couldn't face it; he wasn't ready for it. He wanted to return, but he knew he realized that he wasn't strong enough. If he and the others had joined together, then maybe they would have had a chance. And that's when it hit him. What he needed in order to break through the line was a solid team; one that would work toward the goal of getting through Silent Line through unity of powers. With his knowledge and a group's power, he would be able to conquer the challenge of Silent Line. As he recovered from his wounds, he began to makes plans. He had to select individuals with diverse skills that would be able to function as a single unit. Not only that, but he had to find Ravens with high battling potentials.

His first choice, Ellie and her AC Phantom, was obvious. Aside from her skills, she was one of the few who survived the Line. They would more than likely share a common goal; passage through the Line. After recruiting her, he searched for someone with strength. Narrowing down his choices, he selected Baron with the mighty White Wolf AC due to the quickness he is able to utilize his machine and the destruction that follows. He had a temper, but that could be forged into power if guided.

He next wanted to choose a team of Ravens and sought out the Cloak and Dagger team. But he only found Diana, for her brother had left for Mars some time ago to make his own mark. It was through her that he learned about the Hands of God team, two Ravens that were quite distinct among the other Raven teams. But as far as he knew, the team had faded into darkness and had not been heard of for some time. He was glad to have found Koemai and even more grateful when Cain rejoined him. And as an extra bonus, Cain's pupil, Elijah, had come along as well, completing his clan, Nightwatch. As he envisioned, the members were diverse and it was that diversity that made them strong; strong enough to become one of the top seven clans of the Ravens. They had it all. Speed, strength, agility, stealth and most importantly, teamwork and respect for each other. It was these last two that would be most important, for when they enter in, they would need to know how the other one will think and act in an AC without second thinking. It seemed that they would need that now more than ever for they had more to deal with that the hidden secrets of the Line.

They had to deal with a rival clan…

The Death Dealers were a fearsome team and judging how they pitted the top two clans against each other, that fear was justified. They were almost a mirror image of them in their talents. Chances are, they were studying up on Nightwatch the same way they were learning them. What made them different where their spirit. Nightwatch was powerful in their rights, but they didn't emit the fear the Death Dealers did. But they weren't afraid. Nightwatch saw past the fearful aura they created. Where others saw doom, they saw themselves. Where many saw death, they simply saw rivals. Deadly rivals, yes, but rivals all the same.

But their rivalry was about to end.

At Silent Line only one of them would dive deep into the Line to partake in the secrets and journey to the other side. One clan would cross the Silent Line and possess the secret technology within the city.

_Only one…_

* * *

_Beach _

Night had fallen once again. Cain was on the beach boardwalk alone gazing toward the sea. He was thinking about what had happened earlier the day. He had never told anyone about the true condition of his wife, but now that he did, he felt a little relieved. Like a release over his heart. Of course, he also knew that he had completed the easy part. Getting the money for the operation. He had already sent in the money as well as had Aria moved so that they would be able to begin the procedure. He also did that in order to hide her from the Death Dealers, or more precisely, Bane. But now he was unable to visit her until the procedure was over. He didn't want Bane to find out where he moved her. As a result, he would only be able to find out after all of this was over, which is why he was more focused on his mission than before.

"Absolution is a beautiful thing, is it not, Cain?"

Cain knew instantly who it was. He took a single gaze to see the dark Raven walking up beside him. But Cain didn't wait. His sword already in hand, he suddenly whirled around toward Bane. A sliver of light and Bane suddenly stepped back, covering his face. Moving his hand away, he gazed at the blood from now a new scar over the side of his face. It wasn't a deep scar, but it was marking.

"I'm…surprised." he growled, completely surprised by Cain's attack. "It's not like you to use sneak attacks."

Cain kept his sword leveled at side. "We will never meet this way again. When we see each other next, it will be Glaive against Reaper."

"Ah, still angry I see." Bane then grinned toothily. "And afraid. But it doesn't matter where you hide her. When I'm done with you, she will follow."

This earned him a deepened glare from his dark rival. "Fighting me is one thing. But you threatened my wife and for that, you must be stopped." He flicked his sword, throwing the blood off the blade. "By any means."

Bane narrowed his eyes. "Curious. That sound like an act of vengeance. Odd for the hand of justice to display."

"On the contrary, there is no greater justice than to defend the one you love. And since you will not back down, I will do what I must." Cain moved past him in order to leave, but stopped at his side briefly. "Now that's curious. We all reap what we sow. You have sown death. Now it will come for you."

"We shall see."


	32. Prelude to Silence

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 31

-

_**Hospital**_

"Guah!"

Koemai groaned aloud as he pushed himself up on the bars. It has been a week since he had come out of his operation and since that time, he had been pushing himself to recover. Diana remained at his side during this time, helping him through it while holding him off when it became too much. During the first week, Koemai wanted to get started early, but ended up hurting himself. From then on, Diana supervised his recovery and gave him allotted times for him to work out. She didn't try to stop or dissuade him, but she knew that he had to take it easy if he wanted to continue with the mission.

"That's enough for now."

Koemai frowned as he looked back at her. "But…"

"Don't you even think about arguing with me." she replied sharply. "Until the doctors declare you fit to leave, then you'll do as I say."

In truth, the doctors were surprised by how much he had recovered. Given the extent of his injuries, he should have been just being able to get out of bed; not working out on his recovering therapy. Koemai settled himself down into the wheelchair and worked to stop panting. Just then, Cain entered into the training room, his hands behind his back.

"Hey. How are you?" Cain addressed to Koemai.

"Great." the Raven grinned. "Never felt better."

"Hm." He turned to Diana. "How is he?"

She folded her arms. "His side is still weak and he's still having some trouble with his arms. But he can walk better now."

"Okay."

Koemai frowned. "You believe her over me? Some friend you are."

"Hey, we can't have you passing out before we go into Silent Line, can we?" Cain then added. "Besides, you lie."

"This is a conspiracy, I know it." Koemai growled. "You two are just messing with me."

Cain sighed. "I'm sorry to hear you say that. Because I just convinced the doctors on an early release for you."

"What?"

Unfolding his arms, he handed Koemai a pad with his release documents on it. "I just need you to sign this."

"No problem." Koemai unhooked the laser pen and immediately signed it. "Just as long as I can get out of here."

Cain simply watched as he finished signing. "One catch. Your therapy will still have to continue. You'll have to have someone watch over you to make sure you don't hurt yourself."

"Are you serious?"

Cain took the pad back. "According to this, very serious. In fact, I have the name of the person set to watch over you to make sure you don't hurt yourself." A dark glint lit in his eye. "And I hear she's quite good at it."

"She? With my luck, it will probably be some bodybuilder name Hilda." Looking back at the pad, he switched it to the next screen, reading the name of his caretaker. He blinked hard when he saw the name and looked up at his girlfriend, who was grinning broadly at him.

"You didn't think that I'd let release from this hospital be an excuse to get away from me, did you?"

"I knew it." he sulked. "It's a conspiracy, isn't it?"

"No comment." was Cain's (smirking?) reply.

* * *

_**Hanger (Havoc)**__'Damn!'_

A spark flickered in Elijah's fingertips as his readjustment to the FCS in the cockpit backfired. Flicking his hand, he grabbed a screwdriver and went back to work. Like many of the others, he had been working to get his core ready for the upcoming mission. If he could improve the locking speed of the FCS, then he would have a better chance of firing without wasting too much ammo. When they meet up with the Death Dealers again, he didn't want to be left helpless like before. This time, he planned to survive and come out on top.

He hadn't come this far for nothing…

- - - - - - - - - - -

_Flashback_

Elijah lightly tapped on the controls of his AC as the dropship flew toward target city. He had been waiting for his chance to be accepted into the Cortex as a Raven and now it was here. Behind him, a gray and white AC, Snow Leopard, stood as well; his escort and the one who would evaluate his effectiveness. The dropship was now over head and the alarm light lit up, signaling him to get ready.

-"This is it."- the pilot of Snow Leopard said over the comm. _-"Take out all MTs in the designated areas. Complete this mission and you'll be registered as a Raven. I'll accompany you as well, but only as an observer. Keep this in mind."-_ The hatch opened up before them. _-"Let's begin."-_

Havoc was soon ejected from the dropship and into the city below. Inside, Elijah went to work on the controls. He was still getting used to using an AC. He had practiced numerous times in simulators and it had taken him some time to get the money and part for one of his own, which was mainly a basic design and equipped with a machine gun, an LS laser blade and small missiles in the back. However, moving with the machine was a little tricky as the feel was quite different from a simulator, but Elijah continued on, working to adapt with the machine.

'_Just take it nice and easy.'_

The machine stomped on through the small city and soon Elijah caught sight of his first target; a MT that was stalking around the corner of one of the buildings. Slowly, Elijah pulled on the controls, trying to get a good aim on the target. He then fired wildly, but his aim was a little off and the bullet tore into the building behind. The MT caught sight of him and began to open fire. Elijah pulled his machine back while working to straighten his target lock. He finally managed to pull it off and the bullets struck the MT, causing it to topple over and explode.

_-"Not bad for a rookie. Five left."-_

Elijah growled at the comment, but pressed on. Boosters ignited, Havoc skimmed across the ground in search for its next target. Eljah managed to lock on to another, this one on the other side of the building before him. He could go around and attack, but then a new idea came to mind. Elijah pulled back on the controls and soared upward into the air. Keeping the lock on the target, he flew over the building until the MT was in sight. Switching weapons, he fired a small missile at the MT and when he landed back on the ground, the MT had been knocked over destroyed.

"Alright."

But he had neglected to see two additional MTs that where around the side of an adjourning building and had caught sight of him. The machines quickly opened fired on his back and Elijah gritted his teeth at the fire.

_-"Amateur mistake."-_

'This guy's really getting on my nerves' Elijah thought as he turned around, flying away from the gunfire at the same time. The MTs pursued him with continuous fire and Elijah saw he was heading toward a building.

'_Alright. Time the strafe.'_

Elijah stopped for a moment, turned more and flew of to the side. His visual began to slowly put the MTs in his sights while he was avoiding their fire until…

_Beep_

**Chchchchchchchchchchchchchchch!**

The machine gun fire hit the first one straight on and its bullets tore past it and onto the second one, felling it as well. Elijah checked his systems and so far he was good. A little damage here and there, but nothing serious.

_-"Two targets left."-_

Elijah set forth at once to find his last two targets. Heading toward the streets, Havoc flew over the terrain, tracking down the last two through his radar. His FCS clicked, signaling him to a target just to the left. The MT was walking under a overhead highway. Not that it mattered to Elijah. While still in motion, Havoc unloaded on it, tearing it apart and causing it to explode.

_-"Aggressive. One target left."-_

The final MT was much closer than they realized. The machine stalked right out the building from right behind Havoc. At that range, Havoc would take serious damage. Snow Leopard saw this but said nothing as it prepared to fire. But in a flash, Havoc whirled around and slashed the MT with its orange laserblade. The blade sliced apart the legs and almost tossed the rest of the MT into the building. Elijah blinked. _'How…did I do that?'_ He had only reacted, somehow sensing the MT coming up behind him. But it was all within a span of two seconds. He's never moved that fast before, not in the simulators at least. _'Perhaps…this is what it was really like…to be a Raven.'_

_-"Impressive move there. Congratulations. From this moment on, you are a Raven."-_

- - - - - - - - - - - -

To this day, he still doesn't know how he did that; how he reacted to the MT behind him or even how he knew it was there. He had heard stories on how Ravens had been able to react in such fashions. Cain and Koemai agreed with this as well, attributing it to either skill or instinct, although they were unsure of it themselves.

In any case, now he was better that that. Skilled, experienced, and trained by some of the best Ravens there were. Even so, this was still Silent Line, a place feared by all Ravens. And now he was set to undergo quite possibly a mission that could be remembered as either legend or foolishness. Whatever way this goes, he was going to see it through. He couldn't dismiss the danger, but he had to rely on his skill and his comrades.

And whatever it was that he did earlier…

'_Now, let's get this working.'_

* * *

_**Mirage Biotech Facility**_

'_Alright Wolf. It's hunting season.'_

-Main system, engaging combat mode.-

The eyes of White Wolf glimmered as it roared off. His mission was simple. He had to track through the cavern system in order to find and destroy a new type of AI system before it went up to production. Why? It didn't matter to him. All that he knew was the important things. The pay and the mission outline. The pay was unusually high, which caught his attention right off. And because it was in a closed cave area, it was perfect for his heavily armored machine to utilize. Moving on through the first corridor and gate, he was met with the facility's automatic defense systems.

They didn't last for too long…

**Kabooom!**

Five well-placed shots from his bazookas annihilated the gun turrets and White Wolf continued on without incident. Finding the next corridor, he began to fly down when his radar beeped. Pausing, Baron checked the radar scope, but found nothing there. _'A glitch?'_ Shrugging it off, he continued on his mission, entering the next gate and into another corridor. Numerous slots in the wall opened up and gun turrets wheeled out and took aim.

"Oh, s$&!"

Baron pulled back and closed the gate as the turret fired wildly at him. A few of the shot got through and hit, but they were minimal. Looking at the gate, Baron began to thinking about what to do. He could find another path around them, but that would take up too much time. Besides, he wasn't the type to be subtle. White Wolf approached the gate once more, but before opening it, he knelt down and unfurled the chain gun. The gate was in the way, but Baron had already established a lock on the targets on the other side. He then signaled the gate to open and as soon as it cracked open, he fired, sending rounds of bullet-fire through the entrance and tearing apart the first targeted turret. The other turret fired upon him, but the damage was lessened since he destroyed a good portion of the turrets. This in addition to his high armor made the job quite simple as he trashed each end every gun turret. Folding up the chain-gun, White Wolf lifted itself up.

'_Well, that was interesting.'_

The white AC marched through the smoldering wreckage and onward to the next gate, only to discover that it was the final gate. Upon opening it, he found the target; an AC locked into the wall and connected to a terminal. Baron regarded the machine. Sleek, probably with some fancy weaponry…soon to be burnt to a crisp. White Wolf bent down again, but this time unfolded its second back weapon; a linear energy cannon. He centered the weapon and it charged up. The energy swarmed and suddenly the cannon fired a devastating blast that ripped through the AI AC and literally shattered it to pieces.

_-Your mission is done, Raven. Clear out-_

'That was pretty easy. Oh, well.' White Wolf wheeled around and boosted toward the exit. The mission was over, but it was just too easy. For the amount of credits the sender was paying, Baron would have guessed that it be a more difficult mission. But hey, whatever works, right? In no time at all, he reached the exit gate when…

_Beep…_

"Again?" He rapped his knuckles against the scope. "I'm going to have to get this thing fixed." He exited the corridor and was ready to fly up the cavern to get out when the beeping came up a third time. Baron growled, but then noticed the dots that appeared. It wasn't a glitch. Enemies were here.

And they were around him.

Baron quickly looked up and round, searching for whomever it was. The cavern was still and dark and he could see nothing moving within the shadows. But they were here. It wasn't just the radar; he could just…feel them, watching him.

_"Death awaits you."_

A blast suddenly fired out, destroying his left arm bazooka. As White Wolf reeled, another shot rang out, disabling the right bazooka. Baron backed his AC toward the facility entrance as the shadows soon solidified into form. Three blackened ACs emerged from the crevices above, with weapons all trained on him.

Anubis, Sheol, and Reaper… Death Dealers…

* * *

_**Hanger (Bloodhand)**_

Cain had just returned from the hospital after checking up on Koemai. He quickly strode over to Bloodhand, climbed up the ladder and opened up the cockpit. He had already known Koemai's passcode, so he had no problem unlocking it. Entering inside, he shifted his body around the readjustments he made earlier and got to work. As he worked, he repeatedly looked down at the datapad from the hospital, showing Koemai's current condition. Using the injuries, he readjusted the cockpit to suit Koemai so that he wasn't hurt while piloting. That meant adding shock absorbers and loosening the controls so that he wasn't pained while targeting. It wasn't an easy process, especially considering that he had his own core to work with, but he did it all the same. Koemai was his friend after all.

A twisted friend, but a friend all the same…

"Working on two cores at once. Isn't that a bit much?"

Cain glanced upward to see Ellie standing just outside the cockpit and leaning back against the railing. He returned his attention to his work as he answered.

"We have to be ready. Besides, I probably would have been doing this even if Koemai weren't injured."

"I understand." the dark-haired woman chuckled. "I wouldn't want to think about it either. Burying yourself in your work is a good distraction so you won't have to worry."

"I'm not worried about Silent Line." Cain replied. "Cautious, yes, but not afraid."

"I know." Her eyes narrowed. "I wasn't referring to Silent Line."

Cain paused for a moment. "Then what?"

"You know what I'm talking about. You know _who_ I'm talking about."

Cain fell silent as Ellie continued speaking. "I know about the operation. You should go to her. She needs you now, don't you think?"

Cain lowered his arms, but didn't look up at her. "I hope you don't take offense to this, but why do you care?"

This time, it was Ellie who fell silent and Cain took note of something in her eyes. _'Pain…? No. Longing…'_ Ellie shook it off and smiled. "…Just call me a hopeless romantic." She moved to the ladder and began climbing down. "But we don't have much time, so stop wasting it distracting yourself."

Ellie soon disappeared down the ladder and Cain took in her words with deep thought. He didn't want to visit Aria for fear Bane might track her down through him and threaten her again. But that didn't stop his desire to want to be with his wife. He had never been away from her for so long since finding her and it unnerved him greatly. Lowering his head, he reached into his shirt and pulled up his necklace, which held both his and Aria's wedding rings. Holding them in his palm, he sighed deeply. It was a choice.

And a strangely easy one to make…

* * *

_**Cavern Facility**_

"Your fate is sealed."

White Wolf was cornered in by three of the Death Dealers. His back was against the wall as he couldn't reenter the facility. Nor could he fly away in escape. The entrance was above him, with the Death Dealers in between. His heavyweight machine would never be able to fly up in time before they shot him down. He could always fight, but his enemies had the high ground and it was three-on-one.

In a nutshell, he was screwed…

Anubis began to lift his energy rifle, aiming for White Wolf's head when a shot suddenly rang on, hitting the rifle. The other two turned toward the direction of the bullet and found a tan machine overhead, now pointing a rifle right at Sheol. Or more to the point, its cockpit…

"I don't think so."

"Charles?" Baron said in disbelief. Not that he was complaining, considering the situation he was in. Reaper began to turn toward him when he stopped him

"Don't. If you've been doing your research, which I know you have, you know how good I am with a sniper rifle."

Reaper froze in place and the other two were motionless as well. "What do you intend to do? Shoot us all?"

"We could, now that we are on even terms."

'_We?'_ Baron thought instantly. He checked his radar, but there was no one else that registered. "Who else is here?"

"Let's just say, a phantom lurks in these caves."

"You're bluffing." Sheol snarled.

"If I am, I can guarantee you will not live long enough for it to mean a thing." Charles replied back. Sheol began to shift a bit, but the laser targeting from the rifle didn't leave the cockpit.

Reaper looked straight up at Professional. "Death is but a means to the truth."

"But I'm pretty sure you don't want it to come here." He paused for a moment and stressed his next words. "Not before Silent Line anyway." Professional then narrowed his aim further on the dark AC. "What shall it be? Do we wait for it or do we all die now?"

The dark ACs didn't move and Charles directed his attention to his clansman. "White Wolf, get up here."

White Wolf marched out from in front of the facility and began to fly up toward the entrance. The tension was great as he continued up, trying to reach the exit as fast as he could. The Death Dealers didn't move and finally White Wolf reached the top and moved out. Professional moved over to the exit himself and only then did he relinquish his lock on Sheol.

"Death awaits you all at Silent Line." Reaper spat out from the darkness. "There is no escaping it."

"How about we cross that bridge when we get to it." With that, Professional shot out the exit cavern where the carrier housed White Wolf and Professional joined shortly after. As the hatch began to close, Baron asked from within White Wolf.

"Where's Ellie?"

"The Cortex."

Baron's face literally dropped. _'He **was** bluffing.'_ Shaking his stupor away, he chuckled. "Remind me never to play you in poker. Ever."

Baron didn't see the thin grin that was on his face.


	33. The Night Before

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 32

-

_Central Hanger Area_

The clan of Nightwatch had regrouped once again in their usual meeting place. After the incident with Baron and the confrontation of the Death Dealers, Charles had suggested to everyone not to go out on any more missions until Silent Line and the group agreed (Although Elijah wasn't too thrilled with being stuck). During this time period, the team set about to make themselves as prepared as possible, equipping and tuning up their ACs as best as they can. Elijah and a few others also worked in the simulators in order not to soften up as it were. After being released from the hospital, Koemai went through both physical training and physical therapy, all the while with Diana at his side to help him through. It is now two days before the contract date and Charles had called everyone in.

"Alright, guys. We've received the word. The contract is set up for Silent Line. As you already know, the Death Dealers have obtained the same contract and it's a free-for-all for us. We will battle the Death Dealers before the Line and the group that wins gets to go on further to the planes that are in wait in the same area as well as refuel and reload for ammo." There were a few nods from the group and he continued. "Once in, we will be transported into the Line where the planes will be shot down. If we're lucky, we get through halfway and will be able to go the rest of the way. Now, besides the satellite cannons, there are other defenses. A new set of MTs guard the territory, each with incredible weaponry and armor. If you face them, do not hold back. And…" He paused, recalling the shadow of the mysterious AC he had seen before. "There may be additional defenses that we are unaware of. In any case, inside the bunker, I believe there is a control system to disable the satellite."

"Believe?" Diana questioned.

"For a satellite of that power to be able to target objects so precisely, the controls must be nearby." Charles reasoned. "That bunker is the best bet."

"Fair enough." Baron replied. "Then what?"

"With the satellite controls off-line, we can pass through the rest of the way without incident. Mission complete."

"Okay. No problem." Koemai nodded. "Just get through insane odds and win. My kind of mission."

"Pretty much." Charles grinned slightly. Serious again... "Because of this, I believe we should all take a break tomorrow." Some of them blinked and he went on. "No sense in being stressed out before the big day, eh?"

Elijah smiled. "Sound like a vacation. I can deal with that."

"Good. We'll regroup here 0900 hours the day after tomorrow."

* * *

_Hanger (Glaive)_

"Hey, you did it."

After finishing his tune-up work with Havoc, Elijah went to visit Cain to see how he was doing and was pleased when he saw Glaive, now outfitted with a spherical orbiter weapon and extra ammo on the back. The extra boosters had to be removed for it though, decreasing Glaive's speed. But the machine would still be remarkably fast and now it was more armed.

"Yes." Cain said after finishing his work on the FCS (Another suggestion from Elijah). "I said it was a good idea, didn't I?

"Yeah, but you just have this way of doing things your own way."

Cain nodded in admittance, but replied. "That doesn't mean I won't accept advice when given."

Elijah smiled as looked back at the machine, but blinked when he saw something else. Just beneath the extra ammo there seemed to be a third part, one that Elijah had not seen before.

"What's that?"

Cain looked up at what he indicated. "Something else." His tone darkened. "Something…for Reaper."

Elijah hadn't noticed and asked excitedly. "Really? What?"

"You'll find out when we get there."

"So, what are you going to do tomorrow?"

Cain closed up the cockpit. "I have some personal business to take care of."

"Personal? You're still going to…?" He stopped himself in afterthought. "Oh wait, now I get it. Her." The young Raven then grinned. "I think I'm finally starting to understand how you talk."

"Really? Hm."

"I feel a little nervous, but excited." Elijah said, putting his hands behind his head. "It's kind of like, being part of history, ya know?"

"Mm…."

'_Mm?'_ Elijah turned Cain to see his former teacher's eyes seemed distant. He moved his hands from his back, folded his arms and stood in Cain's sight path. "Okay, what's up? And don't you dare tell me it's nothing."

Cain took a step past Elijah, continuing to look outward. A moment a silence went on before Cain finally replied. "I want you to take the name of Justice."

Shock instantly came over Elijah's face. "What?"

"It seems to suit you more than it suits me now."

"Doesn't suit you?" Elijah shook his head. "Okay, now you aren't making any sense…again."

"This mission…and everything that has happened has changed me. I am not the same person I was before. At least, that's what I believe." He turned to Elijah, now looking directly at him. "When we get in there, Koemai will need your help."

"What are you talking about? You'll be there. Besides, I've got a name, remember."

Cain turned away once again and began to climb down the ladder. "It would be best if the hands of Justice and Vengeance stay side by side. That's only going to happen with you."

Elijah was frowning deeply as he watched Cain descend. Nothing Cain was saying was making any sense. "You're talking as though…" He stopped and then it clinked, hitting him with a bolt. "You're not planning on coming with us, are you?"

Cain stopped at the entrance of the hanger "If we meet up again, I will take up the name of Salvation." Not seeing Elijah's stunned face, he walked on.

"See you in Silent Line."

* * *

_Hanger (Professional)_

"So what the idea with sending everyone off like that? You're not getting cold feet now, are you?"

It was the afternoon the next day and the hangers were quiet save for the automated machinery that was active on the ACs. Charles was in the cockpit of his own, doing some last minute tune up work when Ellie approached him with the earlier question.

"You know if you keep implying, I may actually start to think you were trying to discourage me." Charles replied from within.

Ellie leaned her elbow on the AC. "I just want to be absolutely certain you aren't obsessed to the point where you can't think beyond getting there."

"You think I'm dangerous."

"You're a Raven." she answered "Of course you're dangerous."

"Hmhm, fair enough." he chuckled. He stuck his head out, but didn't face her. "I want to do this the right way. But to do it the right way, I have to make sure everyone gets through this alive."

"That sounds good." Ellie replied. Charles nodded and went back inside and to work when Ellie questioned him again. "So how are you going to spend the rest of the day?"

"Don't know. Maybe I'll run some tests…"

"No." she cut him off with a sweet voice. This caused him to stop in slight confusion, but she continued. "You're going to take me out to dinner." She peeked in and smiled. "And don't even think about refusing this time."

Charles remained quiet for a moment, trying to decipher this woman. But, like most women, she was hard to figure out for him. "I thought you said I was dangerous."

"I like dangerous." she replied slyly. "Come on. I'm just asking you out to dinner, not a date." Her tone lowered. "It may be the last."

Charles now stared at her. "Are you afraid?"

"No. But I'm a Raven. I have to be prepared for the possibility. We all do."

Charles shut his eyes wistfully. Ellie looked at him for awhile and soon a smile curled up his face. "Classic or Chinese?"

"Surprise me." she smiled back.

* * *

_Dormitory_

Nighttime. Koemai had just returned from his training exercises in the gym. While many of the others went off their separate ways, Koemai remained behind to work out. Normally he would have been at a bar, drinking his head off, but his injuries wouldn't allow it. The last thing he needed was to get into another bar fight (Kind of his hobby). So rather, he decided the best thing to do was to stay behind, watch some TV and relax. After that, he went though his therapy training in order to work out the kinks in his body. He was much better than before, although he was a little sore in parts of his body. But he'll just have to get over that. Silent Line was waiting and he wanted to be at his best. He was about to sit and watch some more TV when his 'nurse' entered the dorm right after him.

"How's your side?"

Koemai frowned a bit. Ever since he had been released, she's been hounding him about his injuries repeatedly, making sure that he took his medication as well as limit his training, except for today. He knew she meant well, but it was beginning to get to him. But even so, he hadn't minded being taken care of by her.

"Just fine."

"Oh really? Let me see."

Koemai began to back away a bit. "No really, it's…guh."

Diana jabbed her hand into his side, causing him to wince. Forcing his face straight and the pain away, he touched her arm.

"Don't worry. I can handle this, really."

The woman didn't budge and her hand continued to stay in the area of his side. However, it wasn't as painful as before. Quite to the contrary, she was moving her hand in a massaging manner. Koemai noticed this after a minute, but only because she had moved closer to him. Her eyes were downcast, but the motions continued, beginning to border on arousing. And that line was crossed when she slid her hand under his shirt and onto his skin, massaging it still as she moved closer still, leaning on his still body.

"Diana…" he said breathlessly. In truth, he still wasn't sure of her intent and he didn't want to make the mistake of getting lost in his emotions. But her intent, it seemed, was quite clear.

"Shh…"

With her opposite hand, she grabbed the rim of his shirt and pulled it up and over his head. Koemai silently allowed it and she tossed his shirt aside. She lifted her hand away from the sore area where a light bruise was revealed, the site of the injury.

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

Koemai blinked and then cockily replied. "Of course. This is nothing."

"Good."

Diana suddenly lifted her eyes up and brought her lips to his. Koemai was surprised by the suddenness of it as well as the pure passion that coursed from her. But that did not stop him from returning it, kissing her with equal force and hunger. Their arms found their way around each other and both were losing themselves in the throes of passion. Even the soreness of Koemai's body wasn't stopping him, although it was there. Diana broke away slightly and moved her lips next to his ear, smiling seductively.

"Because I would hate to have you pass out. At least not until afterward."

Another kiss ensued. And then some…

* * *

_Kisaragi Medical Facility_

Cain strode through the shallow halls of the facility. The place was quiet, with a few machines beeping off in the distance. But he paid them no mind as he walked to his destination. Room 5G. Opening the door, he entered in to find his beloved Aria lying on the bed, just as she was in the previous hospital. Only the machines monitoring her were different. He wanted to smile at seeing her; for him, it felt like it was too long. But the smile never came and he settled for sitting beside her, grabbing a nearby chair in order to do it.

"Hello dear. How are you? Yeah, stupid question." He reached forward and tenderly held her hand. "It's going to be a long day tomorrow, huh? It looks like we're both taking risks; you with this operation, and me with Silent Line. But I don't want to lose you, either in this hospital or by…"

He didn't want to finish that sentence, because he knew he would think about Bane and that would get him angry. He didn't be like that around her. But this wasn't any better. To think that she would have to go through this while he was away on probably his most perilous mission. He could have foregone going with his clan, but they needed him. Plus, he couldn't allow Bane to complete his promise. Uncertainty was on all side and that upset him greatly.

"I miss your voice…so much." A single tear slid down his cheek and onto her hand. "I wish I could hear you now. You always knew what to say."

He wiped away the tear streak on his face and released her hand, only to reach onto the back of his neck and unclasp the necklace he wore, which held their wedding bands. Holding them between his fingers for a while, he soon reached behind her neck and fastened it around her.

"I'll come back for these. Then we can put them back on together."

Cain had never been one to make a promise, save one, and that was to her. Now he made another and he wasn't sure he could keep it. _'No. I have to. There must be no other way.'_

A knock came at the door and a young man stepped in. "Sir. We have to get her ready for the operation."

"Come back later."

"But sir…"

Cain turned his head to the side and the orderly blanched at the death-glare he was receiving from the Raven.

"This is my wife. I would like to spend some more time with her. _Come. Back. Later_."

The orderly didn't waste a second in leaving.

* * *

_Next day_

The sun rose on that day, but was not able to shine. Gray clouds covered the skies over the Cortex. In the gathering room, Ellie entered inside, wearing a black jumpsuit with the silver emblem NW and a bird in the middle to match, specially designed for the clan. Charles was already there, dressed in a similar uniform.

Ellie shook her head, amused. "Figures you'd already be here."

"Of course."

A couple of minutes later, Baron and Eljiah entered in. Both were holding their heads in some sort of pain.

"What happened to you two?"

"Drinking contest." Elijah then gave a thumbs-up. "I won."

"You cheated." Baron moaned. "I don't know how you did, but you did."

Elijah placed his hand back on his head. "Keep it down. My head's still throbbing."

"That's supposed to be my line."

Turning to the entrance, they saw Diana and Koemai entering in as well. But more obvious than that, their hands were joined together.

"Hey you two. Whoa, what's this?"

Koemai moved behind her and clasped her waist in his arm, grinning all the while. "What does it look like, shorty?"

"Oh well. You missed your shot, Elijah." Baron chuckled.

Elijah's face flushed. "Shut up."

"Don't worry cutie." Diana grinned dangerously. "You and I can always have a little fun on the side."

"We did not need to know that."

Half of the group jumped when they heard Cain's voice and turned to find him standing against the wall on the far side of the room.

"How long have you been here?"

"Long enough." was the simple reply. He then glanced over the both of them. "So you two are back together. Now I won't have to hear you bicker all the time."

"That's right." Koemai shot back. "Now you can hear us…well, perhaps I shouldn't say." He glanced at Elijah. "After all, there are children present."

"Shut the hell up!"

Despite this, everyone chuckled at the display and even Elijah had to admit that it was pretty silly and laughed himself. The humor soon died down and Charles addressed them in all seriousness.

"Alright. Everyone is here. You all know what to do. All we have to do now is do it."

The group nodded and Charles looked over at them all. This was what he had wanted and more. A fully forced fighting team created from some of the best Ravens around. He had no doubt that they would complete their mission. It would be difficult, but he was confident now that they would be able to enter into Silent Line.

"We are Nightwatch. We have watched; we have waited; now we act."

Baron raised a fist. "Let's do this."

The team soon moved off to their individual ACs. Koemai, Elijah and Cain walked the in the same direction as their hangers were linked together. Koemai stopped in front of his Bloodhand AC and grinned.

"Time for the Hands of God to do their thing. Vengeance…"

But he was shocked when Cain continued on his way, not saying a thing in return. He was about to shout out to him when Elijah stepped in.

"And Justice."

Now Koemai was really confused. "Justice?"

Elijah stared at the retreating Raven. "Cain told me…" His face tightened with conviction and he looked back at Koemai. "I will be the hand of Justice."

Koemai folded his arms. "What happened to Salvation?"

"Salvation…will come…" the younger Raven replied. He looked back to see Cain entering Glaive. "At least, that's how he would say it."

"Yeah, he would." Koemai agreed softly.


	34. Clash with Death

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 33

-

Three carriers rolled across the terrain toward the designated areas. The carriers soon stopped on a hillside edge and the hatches opened in the back. Seconds later, metallic feet slam onto the floor as several ACs emerge from the rear of each of the carriers. The trucks soon rolled away, leaving behind seven diverse Armored Cores. The group looked out over at what will soon be a very active battlefield. Havoc stepped forward first and looked out into the wasteland.

"Nervous?" Diana asked from _Cloak_.

"Nope. You?"

"I don't know about nervous." she shrugged. "Anxious seems more like it."

"Don't worry. We're all nervous." Ellie cut in from her _Phantom_. "Even the ones that act otherwise."

_White Wolf_ (Baron) soon stalked forward. "Isn't this the kind of time where someone says a speech or something? I don't know."

Koemai (_Darkhand_) chuckled. "We're Ravens. If anything, we get last rites. Heh."

"Why not?" This came from Charles (_Professional_) and at this; the others looked at him strangely. The tan AC then looked over at _Glaive_. "What about it, Cain? Feel like giving us out rites?"

"Why me?"

"Well, you seem to be the most…spiritual of us. Who better?"

Cain regarded this for a moment with some thought and looked out into the wasteland. "In the days of ancient past, a flood swept in and destroyed the entire world. After the storm, Noah sent out a raven to seek land. And each time, the raven returned. We are to follow this pattern now. We go out, complete our mission and return. All of us." He paused and let his eyes scan over the others. "We are Ravens. Let us return."

"Amen."

The group stood there in silence, each in contemplation as to what was to happen. For them, it was a chance to be legends, to be a part of history, the ultimate mission and to protect those they love. They were friends, clansmen, warriors-in-arms, ready to face the fight of their lives.

"They're here."

From across the wasteland, seven black shadows appeared. Their eyes gleamed in crimson red as they looked up at their intended prey. The Death Dealers…

"Alright, Nightwatch. We all know what we need to do." Professional lifted his rifle in the air. "Let's fly."

The seven machines ignited their boosters and flew toward the opposing clan. Their targets were already designated to each of them and they knew who they were to fight.

* * *

For Elijah, he would be facing Hades; the Death Dealer that lead the team attack against them some time ago and nearly destroyed him. Elijah had felt a sense of weakness ever since then, but he put that behind him. He was now stronger than before, and more than that, he was ready. He had studied his opponent and his arsenal. Karasawa rifle, left arm missiles, linear cannon, all set on a heavy reverse-joint machine. It would prove to be a daunting task, but Elijah was ready.

'_I am a Raven. This fight is mine.'_

* * *

Koemai would pit himself against the Death Dealer Sheol. For Koemai, this would prove to be quite the challenge. His injuries not withstanding, Shoel was quite possibly the craftiest of the clan, being a unusual blend of speed and firepower. Plus, locking on will be difficult due to the AC's use of ECM markers. For that reason, Bloodhand was set with heightened radar functions to clear away interference as quickly as possible.

He just hoped it would be enough…

"Let's rock."

* * *

The Death Dealer Black Widow would be Ellie's target. The only female Raven among the Death Dealer clan, she was every bit as deadly as her AC's namesake, known for using her weaponry to create web-like attacks until she attacks in a final and single strike. For Ellie, this would be quite a task, seeing the similarity in design. Her speed would be able to escape such an attack so long as she was caught in her tactics. But that could be said for a fly that's fast, but caught once and that would be the end of it. But Ellie wasn't a fly; she was a phantom.

And phantoms don't get caught in webs…

* * *

White Wolf will face the Death Dealer's own heavyweight, Skull. Unlike White Wolf though, Skull was armed with more weaponry and defensive measures. But he lacked White Wolf's sheer power. Knowing this, Baron would have to time his shots carefully and precisely. His time in the simulator was for training in this area and he had done well in it. But that was just the simulator. This was for real.

And in reality, you don't get to start over…

* * *

Diana would battle against the recluse Death Dealer, Genocide. The name was not by accident however as his weaponry is designed to level an entire area at once and repeatedly. What made this Raven different from the others was that Genocide worked in solo assignments, keeping away from team activities except in certain situations. Cloak's speed should suffice in dodging the attack force created by Genocide, but she would have to do more than avoid him; she would have to defeat him.

That could be a problem…

* * *

Charles designated himself to take on Anubis, considered the deadliest of the Death Dealers, second only to Reaper. The reason being that Anubis was well rounded and quite skilled in taking out his opponents, whether single or multiple. Professional was the best core to take him on due to the similarity in machinery. Position-wise, Charles would have taken on Reaper, but that privilege had been assigned to one Raven in particular.

_'I have my own job to do…'_

* * *

The most obvious of the battles, Glaive would face against his nemesis, Reaper, the leader of the Death Dealers. Unlike the others though, their fight wasn't merely one of convenience. It wasn't simply because the two have fought each other in the past and knew each other's tactics.

This…was personal…

As the battle locked in between the other machines, Glaive stopped before Reaper, the blue visor of his AC glaring over at the AC of death. Reaper's energy scythes curved into form; twin deadly curves of violet energy.

"You've cheated death for long enough and that will no longer be tolerated. Are you finally ready…to meet your Maker?"

"Are you? Because that will be the only outcome of this fight."

At that, Glaive extended his blade, the white-blue spike of the Moonlight. But that wasn't all. Next, the extra piece on the back of the shoulder unfolded and connected to the blade arm. The part lit up and the blade of energy extended, nearly cutting into the ground now. _A Moonlight sword…_

"Heh. We'll see about that."

At that instant, Reaper's missiles launched into the skies and soon began to descend. But by that time, Glaive was already on the move, flying in close so that the missile wouldn't be as effective. Glaive decided to retaliate by sending a blast of energy at him from his laser cannon. Reaper dodged back in avoidance and shot back with his inside shoulder rockets. Glaive dodged as well, but one of the rockets skimmed across the leg and exploded, set it on fire. _'Napalm rockets… Seems like I'm not the only one to alter his AC.'_ Speaking of alterations, Cain switch up his weapon, arming the orbiter cannon. The FCS lit up repeatedly and Cain fired, releasing multiple mechanisms that soared and hovered around Reaper. Seconds later, the orbiters fired repeatedly on Reaper, causing him to run. As the orbiters followed, Glaive switched weapons, firing his laser cannon once again in pursuit. Reaper continued to avoid the orbiters and laser fire until he had gotten enough room for his missiles to be fully effective.

'_Foolish. You gave me too much room. Now it ends.'_

The vertical missiles took to flight again and this time, Glaive couldn't get in close to avoid them. The missiles slammed down, kicking up dust from the ground as they exploded everywhere. For a moment, there was stillness and Bane thought that the missiles had done him in. But a second later, the white-blue light of the Moonlight emerged from the dust and the white AC emerged with a blast. But Bane was in for another surprise as the Moonlight blade…was a Moonlight sword!

'_?'_

The extra part that was attached behind the shoulder of Glaive was now active and hooked onto the sword arm, causing the laser blade to extend more than twice its original length. The dual-scythes of Reaper quickly came active and locked in with the blade before it could cut, but Bane was now amazed somewhat. The new energy sword had come in really close and Glaive had managed to survive the missile assault without pause. _'He's become relentless now. Desperate. And that will soon be your downfall.'_


	35. Death to Nightwatch

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 34

-

**TKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTK!**

Havoc bore down a load of machine fire upon Hades, but his shots weren't making too much impact on the Death Dealer. But that was part of Elijah's plan. In order to safely combat this Raven, he had to keep him off balance. Being a reverse joint AC, that would make Hades defense low. He just had to hit him a sufficient amount of times and Hades would fall.

Hitting him was the problem, and not the only one.

With the energy weapons Hades possessed, he could make short work of Elijah's AC. Thus, keeping him off balance was also a defense measure, one that Hades soon noticed.

-"I can sense your fear, hatchling."-

Elijah frowned at the name and continued to fire. Hades skipped aside and took to the air, avoiding the gunfire that ripped on past. Havoc stopped firing and looked upward. Hades aimed downward and fired his Karasawa rifle, sending beams of energy soaring down to the young Raven. Havoc flew aside as the blasts smashed down, causing the dirt floor to erupt. But Elijah wasn't fooled by this tactic and kept lock on the airborne AC.

'_I don't think so.'_

Arming his missiles and activating the extra missile extensions, Elijah let loose a stream of flying projectiles at Hades just as he was landing. Hades was completely caught and Elijah smirked at the imagined look of surprise on the Raven's face.

**Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!**

Rearming the machine gun, Havoc charged in. Since his missiles were radar jammers, that would render Hades helpless for a few minutes. Enough time for him to take him out. But upon getting past the smoke, he found Hades gone. Wheeling around, Elijah found Hades airborne once again. And even worse, Elijah's system warned him that he was locked.

_'What? But how…?'_

Hades fired a slew of missiles from his left-arm launcher. Elijah quickly yanked back on the controls, dodging most of the fire. As Havoc began to turn around, Elijah finally understood what happened. Hades must have a high ECM resistance, meaning that he wasn't as helpless as he thought. Havoc finally managed to turn around, only to be blinded by a white flash followed by a rocking explosion.

_A Karasawa blast…_

Elijah felt like his cockpit was spinning and when he regained control, he discovered what happened. Hades had fired upon landing and had completely blown off his machine gun. Havoc was now holding the smoldered remains of his weapon.

-"And now, the hand of death reaches for you."-

Elijah scowled slightly as he discarded the weapon. After all his work and training, he had missed that one vital fact. What if he missed other things as well? _'No. I can't doubt myself now.'_ Memories of his previous fight with Hades drove him even more. _'I refuse to be that helpless again.'_ Lifting the left arm, Havoc ignited his laserblade, a long stream of light red energy, and readied himself for renewed battle.

'_Alright. Round two, creep.'_

* * *

"Come back here!" 

Koemai pursued the now-retreating Sheol. Since the beginning of their fight, Bloodhand had been relentless in his attacks, not giving the Death Dealer a chance to form a counter-attack. Already, Sheol had sustained a significant amount of damage, both from the machine gun and a close encounter with Bloodhand's laserblade. It was no wonder why they wanted such a Raven to join their ranks.

But he was a part of Nightwatch, therefore he was to die…

Locking on with his vertical missiles, Shoel fired a couple of projectiles that soared high into the air and then descended. Activating his OB, Bloodhand shot forward, dodging the missiles altogether and coming in close with his blade again. Shoel activated his extension boosters, pushing him out of the way of the slash and giving him enough space to fire.

But not with his weaponry…

Koemai, meanwhile watched as Sheol continued to fly away and pursued once more. At this point, his old wounds were beginning to bother him, but he ignored it and pressed on. The sooner this was over, the better. Sheol stopped flying back and skiff of to the right. Koemai had a clear shot now. Sliding on the ground, he quickly activated his grenade launcher and locked on.

_'Gotcha.'_

But suddenly, his FCS lock vanished as he fired and the grenade blast soared clear through the sky. _'What the hell?'_ Wheeling around, Koemai regained his lock and was about to fire when he lost it again. _'What's going…? Oh yeah.'_ Hovering in the air were ECM markers, blocking out his lock-on capabilities. Seeing that remaining in place would be suicide, Koemai retracted his launcher and returned to his machine gun. The lock on was still cut, but there was a solution to that. Firing his boosters, Koemai began to move out of the marker's range. But the swarming sound of missiles cut turned his attention to his opponent, who was not firing at him with his vertical. This time, Bloodhand would not be able to avoid them. Relying on instinct, Koemai fired, not at the Death Dealer, but at the missiles themselves. Remarkably, he managed to hit two of them.

Problem was, there were five total… 

_**Wham! Wham! Wham!**_

Normally, such hits would barely faze Koemai and he would just get back into the fight. But he was a bit slow to recover and by that time, Shoel attacked again, switching to his rifle and unleashing his fury. The bullets hit Bloodhand consecutively and in return, Bloodhand fired back, forcing Shoel to strafe away. Luckily, Bloodhand's extra shielding protected him for the most part, but more damage was done than could be seen. Within, Koemai moaned painfully. One of the shots had hit the cockpit and sparked him, opening a wound on his side. Blood was slowly seeping out as Koemai grasped his wound. His FCS cut off again and he looked to see Shoel continuing to strafe around him, looking for the right moment to strike. Releasing his wound, Koemai retook the controls while his hand was stained with his own blood.

'_Bloodhand…Talk about irony.'_

* * *

The dust of the wasteland spew up wildly as Phantom flew along with Black Widow. The two machines then split off and flew at each other. Phantom got the first lock and fired a thin beam of energy. Black Widow skipped to the side and fired her arm missiles. Phantom continued to soar past and then shot up into the air. The missiles followed, but then she descended sharply, causing the missiles to lose track and implode in the air harmlessly. Looking at her opponent, she armed her dual warhead missiles and let them loose. Black Widow stopped briefly and suddenly hopped up into the air just after the missiles split up, causing them to fly just under her and miss totally. This is how it has been between the two Ravens. One would fire and the other would counter without a scratch, using their speed and agility to outright dodge and avoid one another. 

'_This is hopeless.'_ Ellie thought amusedly. _'We're not going to do too much at this rate.'_

Black Widow landed on the ground, with the dual orbit cannon lifting up. Phantom wheeled around in a double fire, firing both a howitzer shell and an energy beam. Black Widow quickly jumped back and up, dodging the attacks once again, but narrowly this time. But her goal had been accomplished and the orbiters hovered in the air, twisted toward Phantom and fired wildly.

Phantom quick backed away out of range, but just then, Black Widow landed behind her and launched another set of orbiters, which quickly fired away. Again Phantom was forced to move away, but Black Widow didn't pursue. Ellie soon found out why. To the left there was a third set of orbiters. _'She must have launched them beforehand.'_ Ellie was now centered in between three sets of orbiters, with Black Widow closing in.

-"Welcome to the web. Now death follows."-

Phantom however, flew straight up into the air. The boosters burned rapidly as she ascended and then took a small shot backward. The descent space put Phantom way out of range of the orbiters and gave her the space she needed to attack.

"Sorry Widow. But I don't trap that easily."

_Fsskk!_

* * *

The fight between the heavyweights of the two clans looked much like a old style battle between tanks as White Wolf and Skull unloaded bazooka fire upon each other. Due to the slowness of the machines, they also took much of each others' fire as well, but because of the heavy armor, it didn't stop them much. But within, both Ravens knew their limits and Baron was beginning to see cracks of his. 

'_S&$t! This sucks.'_

The last bazooka shots from Skull had impacted with his linear cannon, disabling it. Not that he could have afforded to use it now, but he was short one weapon now. _'Guess I'll have to go to Plan B.'_ Kneeling down, White Wolf unfolded his chain gun and fired, not even waiting to lock on. The bullet fire ripped at Skull, tearing away at the dark AC. In mid-attack, Skull lifted its arm and activated the energy shield, reducing the damage he took. At the same time, it unlocked the vertical missiles and sent loose a swarm of them.

'_Give me a break.'_

Flipping the switch, Baron activated his core's missile interceptors. As the vertical missiles began to descend upon him, the interceptors fired projectiles of it own, countering the missile attack. But it did serve to distract Baron long enough for Skull to get out of the line of the chain gun fire and settle down elsewhere. Now Skull was unfolding his own weapon, a back laser cannon.

_**PHOOSSSHHHH!**_

_'S#$T!'_

The cannon blast hit White Wolf square on, blinding the Raven inside in a flash of light. The armor continued to hold, but the blast had damaged a good portion of the circuitry, causing sparks to flutter around him. Looking back at the viewscreen, he saw his opponent in the same place, likely charging for another blast. Baron jerked on the controls, but found that they too were damaged, jammed from within. He continued to jerk them around, trying to get a response out of his machine.

'_Come on, Wolf. Get it in gear.'_

-"Time to put you down like the dog you are."-

_**PHOOSSSHHHH!**_

* * *

**BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!**

Cloak swiftly swooped away and through the onslaught brought about by Genocide, who was in the air and bombarding the area with howitzer shells and his EO solid shots. _'This guy sure lives up to his name.'_ But there was a pattern; she was smart enough to see that. He was aligning his blast, trying to drive her in a certain direction. She quickly checked her area map and saw a crater just up ahead.

'_Ah, so that's what you're up to.'_

Genocide continued with his barrage, driving the high-speed AC toward the crate. His attacks had been timed well as he fired consecutively to make it seem as if he was blasting everywhere yet limited enough no to waste his ammo. She would be unable to counterattack and when she ran into the crater, she would be doomed. The howitzer shells would swarm her and without her maneuverability, she would be helpless to stop him. Cloak continued to be driven toward the crater and Genocide decided to take the final step. Lowering to the ground, Genocide switched the firing capacity of his howitzer arms and launched four shells simultaneously. The explosions tore up the ground as he landed in the aftermath. Genocide quickly set up his multi-missile and began aiming toward the crater. _'Time to end this.'_ Despite the smoke, Genocide would still be able to lock on to Cloak. The missiles will ground her and give him enough time to finish the job. A flawless plan of execution, save for one problem.

He was being locked…

_'What?'_

The smoke cleared to find Cloak facing him directly. Diana had allowed the howitzer bombardment to hit her, relying on her shielding to take the brunt of the damage while she settled the machine on the ground for an attack, using the smoke as cover all the while. Fortunately, many of the howitzer shells didn't hit her and her shielding held up. Now for the counterattack…

"Choke on this."

**BOOOOSH!**

The laser cannon fired, hitting Genocide dead on and nearly knocking the machine down. But in a flash, the Death Dealer strafed off to the side and flew back. _'That's what you get for treating me like cattle.'_ Diana deactivated her cannon and brought her machine gun back to bear. However, the black AC began to swoop back, it eyes gleaming red.

-"You…will…suffer…!"-

* * *

-"As the ancients perished under my namesake, so shall you."- 

Stealth active, Anubis fired upon Professional with a combination of his machine-gun and large missiles without worry. Professional strafed around the attacks as they came continuously, not able to fire back. As he soared off to the right, Anubis switched to his triple missiles and let them loose. Again, Professional was forced to dodge, only this time into the air. His hover booster active, Professional flew around the swarm. Anubis turned and followed, but the Raven within frowned. Professional had moved into the perfect spot to counterattack, yet he didn't do so. Anubis had planned on using the counterattack to move in, but in never came.

For that matter, Professional hadn't made any offensive moves against him. Despite taking in damage, the leader of the Nightwatch clan did little to fight back. Anubis had assumed that it was because of his stealth extension through a majority of the battle, but there were times where he had been open. Anubis is usually prepared for an attack right after his extension shuts down. It was one of his strategies with his machine to expect it and to hit his enemy as they come in to attack.

'_Perhaps this one knows that.'_

Seeing this, Anubis decided upon a new strategy. He would leave his stealth extension off for the time being and let his opponent attack him for a time. Then when he least expects it, he will reactivate it and move in close for the kill. It will be a swift and final end.

Just the way death should be…

* * *

**Foooossshhhh!**

The rocket flew past the white AC as it came in to attack. Reaper skipped back briefly before his scythes flared alive and slashed. But in was in defense against Glaive's Moonlight saber. As the two clashed heavily, Bane frowned. Dealing with Glaive now was turning out quite differently than his previous encounters. His battling was more aggressive, especially with the new saber generator extending his already powerful laser blade. Bane usually had the advantage due to the fact that he was equipped with dual scythes, but this alters range and the ability to counter. It was time to use a…different type of weapon.

-"She will die. It is inevitable."-

No response from his rival and Glaive pushed back. Allowing himself to fly back, Reaper launched another salvo of vertical missiles. Glaive came in close in order to dodge most of the missiles, with a few hitting around the legs and almost throwing him off balance. Seeing this, Reaper came in to attack, firing another inside rocket for extra time and attacking with his scythes. Glaive activated his laser sword and lifted it in defense, resulting in a flash of sparks and energy between the two.

-"You tried to hide her from me. But nothing escapes the eyes of death. Nothing escapes the hand of death."-

Within Glaive, Cain worked hard to shut out the taunts of the Death Dealer and focus on the fight. He didn't need to be thinking about Aria now. He had long decided on what to do and simply wanted to focus on completing his task. To that end, he had to leave out any thought other than that. But with Bane attacking him verbally, it was just as difficult to focus as the battle itself.

_'Remember what you're fighting for…'_

Calming his thoughts, Cain moved into action again. Glaive pushed back hard, forcing Reaper back again. Switching arms, Glaive lifted his laser cannon and fired a blast of energy at Reaper. Reaper twisted of to the side using his turn boosters and the energy swarmed off into the air. Still turning, Reaper fired up his scythes again in a backward slash, to which Glaive jumped back. Reaper was very adept to using his scythes in forms that were unusual for most Ravens to use. Glaive was the only AC that moved in similar fashions and he showed it as he moved his blade upward while Reaper was coming in for his second slash, deflecting it. Glaive then strafed off to the side, expecting another rocket launch. But Reaper made no such move and Glaive continued to fly around, readying for another attack. But Bane had an attack of his own.

-"Room 5G."-

Cain's eyes widened. That was the number of the room where Aria was in. He _did_ know where she was. Cain's focus was all but shattered at that moment and Bane chose that moment to boost at Glaive and attack, firing a rocket that impacted with the laser cannon on his arm, blasting it off. Cain forced his mind to refocus, but it wasn't complete and Reaper was upon his, scythes flying through the air. In an act of desperation, Glaive shot back, but the scythe edge hit across the core, creating a tear mark across it. Glaive seemed to stagger back and Reaper came in again. Only instinct allowed Cain to defend against the attack with his blade, but the force of strike forced Glaive to kneel down. Cain struggled hard with the controls in order to push back, but his efforts were weakened. Reaper towered over him, pressing down even more and forcing the white AC into submission.

-"She will die. And so will you."-


	36. Shadow of Dispair

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 35

-

'_Alright. Round two, creep.'_

With his blade extended, Havoc charged in to attack the Death Dealer. Hades was a bit surprised by the suddenness, but it didn't faze him as he boosted up and away, aiming his Karasawa rifle once again. And energy bolt was fired, impacting Havoc in the lower leg area, but the machine continued to move, following just underneath him as the EO system sprang up. The orbiter fired relentless, spraying the Death Dealer with energy shots. Hades fell quickly and strafed, avoiding the rest of the EO shots as he aimed for another attack.

-"It ends."-

Another energy blast fired out and this time and direct hit, impacting with the core itself. The Raven within Hades looked on, expecting the AC to fall and explode like so many had done before. After all, hitting the core directly with such a blast meant that either the pilot was dead or the main systems were fried and about to explode. In any case, Havoc was finished.

Or so he thought…

But then he found that he was locked on to and soon Havoc's missiles were flying at him. Hades backed away and soared over the terrain, trying to outrun and dodge the missiles as they chased after him. The missiles finally feel away and Hades searched for his opponent.

It didn't take long….

From in the sky, Havoc dove in, EO's active once again and firing with another set of missiles. Hades was forced to fly away again, but let off yet another energy shot, hitting his rival in the shoulder, shredding the armor, but not stopping the machine's attack. _'How is he doing this?'_ What the Raven of Hades has yet to realize is that Elijah had equipped his core with high energy defense shielding. It was that defense that allowed him to survive the direct attack on the core and partly allowed Elijah to continue fighting. In rage, Hades stopped retreating and attacked head on, firing at will. Havoc skipped aside a few of the energy blast and came in close, but his EO was blown of by one of the shots. But he was close and his energy saber ignited.

_Skkkkkkk!_

Hades had backed away, but the blade found its target; the Karasawa rifle. The weapon was slashed in half and crumbled onto the ground. Hades continued to fly away and Havoc began to follow, however he was slow in coming. The Raven smiled within. Havoc must have taken too much damage and the Raven had pushed himself too far beyond his limits. Still, he couldn't take any chances. This certainly wasn't the same Raven that he and his comrades had maimed so easily some time ago. Settling back, Hades knelt down and armed his linear cannon. No matter what shield that core is equipped with, it certainly couldn't withstand the full force blast of this cannon.

-"Now it ends…"-

_**BOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!**_

* * *

"RAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The war cry of Koemai as his machine charged straight at Sheol like a bat out of hell. Sheol continued to strafe away and fire back, but the enraged Raven seemed to be ignoring all the shot and flying past them. Shoel suddenly stopped and let Bloodhand draw near. Bloodhand's orange blade lit up and slashed out, but at the last second, Sheol jumped up into the air and dodged the slash totally. Koemai looked up in annoyance and pulled the controls bath to aim, but paused briefly, feeling the pain of his reopened wound wrenching through his side. Fighting it off, he focused on his aim, only to find that his opponent had already set his ECM marker, cutting off the attack.

'_This is really pissing me off.'_

Koemai followed airward after him and Shoel released a round of vertical missiles. Bloodhand easily avoided them, but it turned out to be a feint as Sheol paused and came back, his own laser blade extended. Koemai reactivated his own EO, but managed only a meager block, as his laser blade is not too suited for such combat. Nevertheless, the force of the clash caused both AC to fall down from the sky and slam onto the ground. Koemai groaned, feeling the force of the fall and with it, the pain. Blood also began to stain his jumpsuit and trickle down to the seat.

_'Put it aside. Focus…on beating this loser!'_

A couple of rifle shots alerted his attention and brought his mind back to the battle. Bloodhand strafed to the side, on the defensive this time as Sheol continued to pelt his with rifle rounds. Koemai worked to think of a way out of this and then a thought popped in his mind.

_'He's not using his markers…Hehehe…'_

Koemai armed his grenade launcher, but didn't settle just yet. Rather he continued to fly away, working to get a reasonable distance from his opponent. When at last reached, Bloodhand activated his launcher, stopping and settling down simultaneously. Shoel stopped in his pursuit, but was too late to stop what was coming.

"Tag! You're it!"

**BLLLAAAAAMMMMMMMM!**

The concussive shot flew out right at Shoel who was completely caught in by the blast. However, Shoel earlier pursuit and attack had let off a couple of rifle shots and when Koemai stopped to fire his grenade launcher, those shots managed to hit him too, shocking the core and again, impacting the cockpit.

"GUAAAAAAHHHH!"

* * *

_'Koemai!'_

Diana was the first to hear Koemai's scream over the comm and looks over to see the situation. So far, it doesn't look like Bloodhand had sustained any major damage, but the damage was probably internal, which is what she feared most. And his opponent seemed to be reviving from whatever attack Koemai hit him with. She wanted to rush over and help, save on little obstacle.

Genocide…

Cloak soared away as a volley of multi missile swarmed at her. Ever since she had hit him with that laser cannon, he had gone mad, firing at her at every opportunity and not giving her a once of space. And whenever she did manage, he would swarm her with these missiles.

'_Boy, did I tick this guy off.'_

Cloak managed to strafe around the missiles, but was then bombarded by multiple howitzer shells and a linear shell shot. Genocide dove in from the air and assaulted her continuously. The linear shot had halted her movements and his howitzers then hammered her. If not for her shielding, she would be in serious trouble. And even that was approaching its limits. She had to find a way out of this and fast.

"Here goes."

Aiming, Cloak fired its machine gun at Genocide, who finally halted in his barrage and jumped into the air. However, his EO was still active, spraying Cloak with another linear shell shot and halting her escape momentarily. _'Damn.'_ Pushing the control, Diana forced her machine forward, just as another howitzer shell exploded behind her. Strafing, she managed to wheel her machine around to face the oncoming Genocide. Lifting its left arm, the dark blue AC fired a salvo of missiles at its shadowy opponent. Genocide easily evaded them, but his dodging movement was exactly what Diana wanted as she tracked him through the air, strafed and unloaded a line of machine gun fire.

**TKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTK!**

The bullets tore at Genocide, tearing up bit of armor and metal. But in mid-attack, the Death Dealer suddenly flew at her and fired a swarm of multi missiles. Diana quickly geared her machine away, astounded by Genocide's aggressive move. _'Is he insane?'_ Cloak flew over the terrain, allowing the pursuing missiles to fall away. Turning to look for Geneocide, she was surprised by the fact that he did not follow, but that was only until a red ball appeared and flew right at her.

_'Oh s(&#t, a grenade shell!'_

She gunned the controls quickly and flew away, but the shell managed to clip her and explode, almost sending Cloak to the ground. Diana covered her face as some of the systems began to spark and a few exploded. Luckily, the main controls were still in tact, so she managed to revive Cloak and lift it upward.

Where Geneocide dove in to attack…

----

_**PHOOSSSHHHH!**_

Whhhhuuuurrr… 

"Yes!"

Controls functional now, Baron jerked the controls and pulled his AC out of the way of the cannon blast. Baron gave a short sigh of relief. Had the control come up one second later, he would have been unable to avoid the energy shot. And with his AP on 5003, that would have put him in a crippled position.

Now, back to the battle…

Skull was rearing itself upright, locking on with his vertical missiles. Baron frowned. _'Doesn't this guy get it?'_ The missiles came and were soon taken out by White Wolf's interceptors, but that only gave Skull time to move in and fire a triple bazooka blast. White Wolf strafed, but one of the shells hit his shoulder, taking out one of the interceptors as well. Baron fired back as well and the bazooka shot hit Skull square on, but it was meaningless against his heavy armor. At this point, they would be shooting at each other for hours and still getting nowhere. He had to end this sooner than that. He had to use his linear cannon. Unfortunately, it was still disabled from the beginning of this fight and useless.

'_Guess I'll have to do this the hard way.'_

Still strafing, Baron released one of the controls and went to work on the circuitry. This would distract him from the battle for a bit and give Skull a major advantage, but if he could get the linear cannon working, he may have a better chance of getting through this. Skull meanwhile, was awaiting a counter-attack from his rival, but upon seeing nothing, he charged on. Baron gritted his teeth as he strafed his machine with the controls in one hand and used his fingers to rewire the circuitry with his other hand. When it wasn't working out too well, he relinquished the controls altogether and worked feverishly on the controls.

_'Come on. Ouch!'_

His machine in one place, Baron was forced to take some hits from Skull, who had launched another set of vertical missiles. White Wolf missile interceptor was still active, but with only one interceptor, many of the missiles hit him. Baron growled, but continued in his work. Skull soon stopped and began to settle down, arming his laser cannon. Baron saw this, but focused on repairing the linear cannon.

_'Red wire, ow! Okay, green wire…'_

The weapon system soon lit up active and Baron cheered inwardly. Wasting no time, he settled into his cannon stance, with the linear cannon unfolding. But Skull had already locked on and the Raven within pulled the trigger.

_**TSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRR!**_

Baron saw the light coming toward him and without waiting to lock on, fired the cannon. The two energy blasts flew at each other and exploded, sending shockwaves to both machines.

"GUUUAAAHH!"

* * *

_Fzzzzz!_

A laser blast from Phantom was dodged by Black Widow as the two strafed side by side. Black Widow pulled back and fired her missile arms, to which Phantom pulled back as well, reversing direction in avoidance. While the missiles pursued her, Ellie kept an eye on her opponent. The missiles were heat induction missiles, capable of badly weakening her armor. But they could also be feints, for missiles were good at distracting people away from the opponent's true intention.

'_Come on Widow. Make your move.'_

The move did come, in the form of another set of missiles, these with added missiles from the extensions on Widow. Phantom began to rear back and then flew forward, ducking just underneath the missile and causing them to collide with the missiles that had been following her. Soaring underneath Widow, Phantom wheeled around and aimed, but a signal light alerted Ellie. Checking her area map, Ellie hit a switch, and the map lit up to show her where her clan members where.

'_Hm. Have to move back.'_

Not bothering to fire, Phantom strangely flew back. Black Widow turned around, but the Raven within was confused. _'I was locked. Why didn't she fire?'_ Perhaps there was something wrong with the machine, something that Widow hadn't seen. In any event, it didn't matter. If Phantom were damaged, then it would just make it easier to destroy. Black Widow activated her EO orbiter and let the energy shots chase after Phantom. Phantom continued to fly away, taking a few of the shots in the back until finally she soared around in attack. Arming her warhead missiles, Phantom fired a set of missiles that soon multiplied in eight. Black Widow stopped immediately and boosted straight up into the air. The missiles followed close and with a simple move backward and cutting off the booster, Black Widow was able to dodge the warheads totally.

_'This is my web! She is my prey!'_

Falling through the air, Black Widow switched her missile arms to increase the number that is launched. Sure, it would lower her weaponry, but it would also ensure a hit. To add further, she connected her missile extensions as well, increasing it more. Aiming at the strafing Phantom, she locked on and fired a total of eighteen missiles at Phantom, spreading out in all directions. There was no way she would be able to avoid it now, no matter how fast she was. Black Widow was too close. And since they were heat inducer missiles, when they hit, Phantom would be crippled.

When you can't bring you prey into the web, bring the web to the prey…

* * *

"AHHHHHHH!"

With a loud cry, Cain forced his way out of the blade lock and Glaive jumped back. However Reaper made no effort to follow him…yet.

-"It is your fate, a thin string tied with hers. And I must be the one to cut it!"-

Reaper charged again, laser scythes slicing through the air. Glaive shot back and away and Reaper came in with his second slash. Glaive managed to wheel around it, but the blade edge hit him and nicked the armor of the core, slicing it partly. Glaive lifted his laser cannon and fired, but his aim was off and the energy beam missed him by a couple of feet.

-"You are beginning to understand, aren't you. It is your fate and it is sealed."-

Cain's hands tightened around the control. Even he knew that fighting the way he has will only get him killed. But no matter how much he tried, he could not suppress the earlier words of the Death Dealer. He knew exactly where she was. He could go after her. He could have done so already. What if she is dead right now? Or what if he fails here?

His attention snapped back when Reaper fired a rocket shell, causing Cain to jerk the controls automatically and for Glaive to strafe off to the side. But Reaper had expected this and following in close, launching another rocket and hitting the white AC's laser cannon and damaging it. Glaive backed away more and Reaper struck with its scythe, tearing a gash in the side of the core. It wasn't deep, but it was significant as Cain desperately brought his laser sword up to defend, locking the two machines again.

-"Such is the balance of death. You had dodge and cheated it every chance you had. Did you not think that it would come back to haunt you? Only now, your beloved shares your fate. And your fate…is death!"-

Reaper pressed on him, driving his scythe ever closer to the falling core. Cain could see the tips of the energy blade inch closer through the viewscreen. In another desperate effort, he tried to push back, but Reaper immediately fired a rocket shell from his chest, smashing right into the core at point blank range.

"Guhh!"

Fortunately, the shell wasn't too damaging and Glaive was well shielded within. But the core was further damaged and Glaive was still locked in a failing blade struggle, unable to get out...

-"Death is but a means to truth. So accept your truth. Die."-

The alarm inside Glaive went off and Cain's eyes widened. A lock on could only mean… And before the thought was finished, Reaper's vertical missiles swarmed up into the air. Now it was truly over. Glaive would be stuck in this position while the missiles would dive in at him from the sky, crippling him without chance of evasion. And even if he did survive somehow, Reaper would finish his soon-to-be-damaged machine with one swipe of his deadly scythes.

_'No. Not like this!'_

The missiles had finished their ascent and had begun to fall…

* * *

-"Fight me!"-

Anubis and Professional continued their fight against each other in the dusty terrain. Or more so, Anubis had been fighting while Professional had done nothing. The machine was fairly damaged from some of Anubis's attacks, but overall, it was still in good shape. Dodging a large missile attack, Professional strafed backward across the terrain. As he did, Charles checked his area map, showing him the details of the battle and the condition of his comrades. So far they were in sore straits, each suffering either severe damage or a tactical disadvantage of some kind. However, the Death Dealers weren't without their own share of battle damage as they pressed their attacks.

'_So far, so good.'_

Looking back at his now enraged opponent, Charles decided that the time was right. Stopping in his retreat, Professional suddenly charged back in attack. This surprised Anubis, as Professional had only been ducking and avoiding him throughout the fight. Nevertheless, now the fight would really begin between them. Machine gun raised, Anubis began to fire, but Professional hit him first with his sniper rifle, causing Anubis to freeze for a moment and allowing Professional to come in with his energy saber. Reacting, Anubis jumped into the air and Charles nodded.

"We had watched; we have waited; now we act!"

And with those words, the clan leader of Nightwatch flicked a switch…


	37. The Price of Victory

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 36

-

Ellie looked on as the heat inducer missiles swooped in at her from Black Widow, spreading out everywhere like a net. Or a web... In any case, Phantom flew away, with the missiles in hot pursuit. As she made her getaway, a red light lit up on the side.

_Beep, beep…_

'_His signal…Time to do it.'_ Reaching for the lower controls, Ellie activated her stealth extension, causing her machine to shimmer electronically and fade out of view. The missiles lost their target and fell away, with Black Widow not outraged that her attack had failed. The Raven within looked around the area. With the stealth up, she would have to use her own vision to fight her opponent. Just one thing.

Phantom was no longer interested in her…

The invisible AC soared around the field, managing to see all the other battles her comrades were locked in. But her concern was her target. And her target came up instantly on the screen, just where he was supposed to be.

Genocide…

The unknown targeted AC was currently targeting a damaged Cloak who began to move away. Genocide locked on, wanting to end her existence in flames. His grenade launcher was set to fire when suddenly he received the lock on warning. He looked back at his retreating opponent. _'How can she lock on? None of her weapons has that kind of range.'_ The realization soon hit him, as did a swarm of warhead missiles that slammed onto the side. Setting his cannon back, he turned, checking the radar for the new attacker. But no one was showing up. His core was soon pelted with a combination of energy blasts and howitzer shells. But there was nobody… Suddenly, his screen lit up, revealing his attacker.

_'How did she get that close?'_

Cloak's stealth had cut off, revealing her presence. Not that it mattered at this point. Her attack had caught her target completely off guard, damaging his core and the left missile arm and destroying his grenade launcher.

-"You sneaky b…!"-

His remark was cut off by another howitzer shell as Phantom dissected the once destructive Death Dealer

* * *

During this time, Black Widow soared in, searching for her stealthy opponent, only to find her attacking Genocide, hitting his left side. She was still in stealth, so Genocide would have trouble finding her and that would cost him. This left the Raven in Black Widow in wonder. _Why did she disengage from me just to…?_

**BLAM! BLAM!**

She had failed to notice that she was locked on and soon virtual meteor slammed into her left side, knocking the machine to the side. And before it could recover, a second blast impacted her right after, hurling Black Widow to the ground. Black Widow revives and the Raven is surprised to see that it was Professional that was attacking her. His dual grenade launchers were smoking from firing and they were still set to unleash their fury. Black Widow rose up, but it was slow and the damage had been done. Her missile launcher was gone and the armor was on critical.

_'How? How could this have happened?'_

**BLAM! BLAM!**

This had been the plan of the Nightwatch clan all along. In order to ensure that they would all be able to enter Silent Line, Charles devised a plan for each Raven. They were to focus on their opponents for a time until they were strategically placed on the field. When the time came, they would instantly disengage from their opponents and bring down their new targets by surprise. Since they were in heated battle, the Death Dealers would be hard pressed, making such an assault a swift victory since most Ravens never disengage during a battle and the Death Dealers were notorious in that fact. It would require a team effort and accurate timing.

Something Nightwatch had trained for since the beginning…

* * *

Baron moaned lowly as his signal light came up. The clash of energy beam had shocked him badly and he felt a little shaken by the force. But the alarm was all that had his focus now. Still in cannon pose, he began to turn, not bothering to look at the condition of his opponent, Skull as he sought his new target, which was flying after Professional.

Anubis…

Cannon charging, Baron worked hard to lock on. But the shock was still in his system and he was having difficulty locking on. _'Come on. If I can pilot this thing drunk, then I can do it like this!'_ He finally straightened the lock and pulled the trigger.

_**BOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!**_

The beam on intense energy soared straight and true at its target. Anubis, warned by the lock on, activated his stealth extension, only to find it inoperable. _'What? His shot…He damaged my extension…for this!'_ Unable to disappear, he was soon smashed to the ground by the linear cannon beam.

"Busted!"

Baron locked on once again as the now-damaged AC sought to rise. Luckily for the Raven, the damage was superficial, although there was a big scorching mark on it. Anubis began to turn and focus his attention on the Raven that had fired on him when another wave soared at him. In panic, Anubis took to the sky, but it was somewhat late and the beam wound up hitting the leg, blowing it clean off. Again, Anubis went down and again, it rose up. Its boosters flared on as the Death Dealer sought escape. But White Wolf would have none of it and began to lock on again.

And that's when his alarm signal lit up…

* * *

_Beep, beep…_

Koemai was clutching his wound when he received the signal. Growling, he looked over at his opponent, who was currently working to recover from the earlier grenade blast. _'Hehe…Uhhh…'_ Releasing his side, he grasped the controls and went backward, seeking his new target who was the Death Dealer, Skull. He wasn't hard to find. He was still in one spot, cannon posed and locked.

On White Wolf…

As Bloodhand began to race over to his target, he checked up White Wolf's status and found that thing weren't too good. His armor points were 1004, close to critical. And Skull was aiming with a energy cannon that could reduce that in one, maybe two shots. In a rush, Koemai opened fire on the heavy AC, sending machine gun fire down upon him. But he was still a good distance away, and Koemai was having trouble focusing because of the blood loss. And Skull seemed to be ignoring him altogether. All this spelled one thing.

Disaster…

With another moan, Koemai opened his comlink with White Wolf. Initially, they weren't supposed to make verbal contact with each other, in order so that the Death Dealers would not know what they were planning. But the time for that was past, and a friend's life was in danger.

"White Wolf. This is Bloodhand. You're locked on. You have to get out…"

Too late. Skull fired a laser blast that soared across the terrain and hit White Wolf square-on. The AC was now on critical, having on 0502 armor points left. Koemai fell faster, shooting still at Skull, who was still ignoring him and taking the shots. He had to get in close and deal with him. But Skull was already setting up the next shot and White Wolf was still focusing on the distant Anubis.

"Baron! GET YOUR A$$ OUT OF THE WAY NOW!"

The reply he received came back garbled. -"Too late…Gonna….this guy…me…straight to hell!"-

"NO!"

Bloodhand rushes in with insane speed, pressing his own body to the limit and hurting himself in the process. But he had to hurry. He had to reach Skull before…

_**PHOOOOOOOOSSSHHHHH!**_

The shots were fired simultaneously. White Wolf fired a stream of energy at Anubis, who had just lifted himself from the floor, as Skull fired his own energy blast. White Wolf's blast hit its target dead on, sending the Anubis to the ground hard and causing its destruction. But Skull's attack hit as well, blasting White Wolf and causing the core to explode from within.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

Bloodhand finally reaches Skull and Koemai didn't stop as he smashed right into the heavyweight. Skull begins to furl his laser cannon, but Bloodhand is already on him. Blade ignited, Koemai hacks right across the machine, creating a massive gash in it and cutting off the cannon. Skull stumbles back, showing that it was more damaged that before, but that didn't stop Bloodhand from coming in again. Skull's energy shield was raised, but Koemai didn't care as he slashed away. The shield deflected the attack, but then Bloodhand brought the blade arm back and opening the hand, he smashed it right into Skull's head, crushing it. The machine fell down from the force, with sparks flying and struggling with a missing head.

Which was not enough for the hand of Vengeance…

Bloodhand moved over the fallen, aimed his machine gun down and fired at point-blank range. The armor was totally useless at this range and the bullets tore through. Koemai screamed aloud as he continued to let loose, even after the machine exploded and the Raven inside most likely dead. It wasn't until his ammo was completely depleted where he stopped, standing over the utterly destroyed Death Dealer.

Then the pain hit and he almost passed out…

* * *

_**BOOOOSSSSHHHHHH!**_

_Beep, beep…_

In the mind of Elijah, the two sounds came as one, telling him exactly what to do. Jerking the controls, his machine skipped aside and strafed, following the aftermath of the energy of the cannon in order to move away faster. He had a new target to seek now.

Shoel…

Unfortunately, the battle with Hades had taken its toll on the young Raven's AC. Gone were the machine gun and his EO and his armor had taken quite a beating. But his objective was clear and he set about in doing it. Scanning the area, he soon found his prey whose armor was scorched by Bloodhand's grenade blast. _'He must be hurting real bad if he was fighting Koemai'_ Elijah thought as Havoc swooped in after him. Switch to missiles, Havoc released a swarm of them upon his new opponent. The missile came in, but at the last moment, Shoel flew back, dodging them outright. Turning to the charging Raven, Shoel fired his rifle, forcing Hovoc to strafe in order to dodge them. This wasn't according to plan, but it was noted that it may happen, that not all of the Death Dealers would be taken by surprise completely. It looks like Elijah would be the unlucky one here.

-"White Wolf. This is Bloodhand. You're locked on. You have to get out…"-

Koemai on transmission? He remembered that they were instructed not to communicate during the battle, so something must be wrong. But the advance of Shoel brought mind back to the current fight as the black AC came in with his laser blade. Havoc backed away as the blade missed and slashed out with his own. With the long reach, his blade should have made contact. However, Shoel used his reverse booster extensions to back out of the blade's range. Now open, Sheol came in with a second slashing attack. But in a surprise maneuver, Elijah brought the blade arm back, catching Shoel's before it made contact and locking on.

-"Baron! GET YOUR A$$ OUT OF THE WAY NOW!"-

-"Too late…Gonna….this guy…me…straight to hell!"-

'_What the hell…?'_ Elijah began to wonder franticly, but it was soon clear in his mind. The lock on alarm went up, showing Elijah that someone was aiming at him. Quickly checking the radar, he saw that it was his previous opponent, Hades, who was locking on to him with his cannon once again.

-"NO!"-

**_PHOOOOOOOOSSSHHHHH!_**

The transmission and the cannon fire all became jumbled in Elijah's head, but his instincts where more than ready to take over as Elijah broke the lock just as Hades fired. The laser blast swooped across the field and hit Shoel instead, blasting the core and sending it down in flames. Elijah used this time to check upon the situation, only to find grave news.

White Wolf had just been destroyed…

'_Baron…No…!'_ Unseen to him, Hades had locked on to him once more, flying toward the AC from the side, firing his left-arm missiles. Again, the youth's instinct kicked in as Havoc pulled away from them, dodging all but one, which did some damage to Havoc and caused the machine to pause. Hades soon stopped and began to settle down. But just then, Havoc went off, soaring right at the kneeling machine. The Raven of Hades panicked, accidentally letting out an energy blast that flew harmlessly into the air. The lengthy blade of Havoc flared to life and cut right into the Death Dealer. The blade may have been weaker than most, but it was strong enough to slash off the right arm and tearing right into the head, taking it off as well. The carved AC exploded in flames and fell to the ground, with the rival AC standing over it.

"…Justice…is served…"

* * *

Not too far away from him, Cloak ceased in her pre-emptive strike. She was designated to go after Hades, but upon seeing him destroyed as well as Sheol, she ceased in her attack. She was actually quite impressed that Elijah could manage to best two Death Dealers on his own and survive to tell about it.

Not all of them were so lucky…

Speaking of which, Cloak was currently moving over to Bloodhand, who was still and standing over the burned wreckage of White Wolf. Remarkably, the machine itself was still in tact, aside from the debris scattered all over the place. But the core itself was burned, almost beyond recognition, with half the body exposed in the opening of the core.

"Koemai? Are you…?"

"…I'm fine." came a weakened reply. "Just…"

Within, Diana nodded as she looked back at White Wolf. "Are you sure he's…?"

"I checked. It's…" Koemai paused and simply repeated. "I checked…"

Just then, Havoc also made his way over, with Professional and Phantom coming up from behind. Elijah too looked at the burned AC, which contained the corpse of his friend.

"I guess…we won't be able to…share a drink in Silent Line."

Moving closer, Havoc knelt down and Elijah used its finger to dig up a bit of the dirt ground from right underneath White Wolf. Then he lifted the same hand and tore into the core and slowly scooped out Baron's corpse, placing it in the other hand. Then with the hands cupped, he lower back down to the hole he had made, placed the corpse within it, and covered it up with the same dirt that he pushed away. A makeshift grave with his AC acting as its tombstone. Havoc lifted itself back up and saw that the others were all surrounding White Wolf with him.

A union of comrades…and friends….

"Don't worry. I'll make sure to drink up for you."

But then sounds of a distant battle caught his attention and he looked over to see the only battle that was still going on. Glaive and Reaper were fighting each other some distance away. 'Cain.' Elijah took hold of his controls and was about to move when…

"No."

Koemai. Elijah looked over at him and half glared. "Why not? We can't…"

"We can. And we will." This came from Charles and now Elijah began to become incensed.

"Are you serious?" the youth raged. "I'm not going to stand around and lose another friend!"

"This is not your choice." Koemai replied calmly. "That is not your fight. It's his."

Charles then added. "And it is also what he wanted. He would fight Reaper and draw him away from the others so that we can do our job."

Elijah shook with uncertainty. Baron was gone, and from the looks of Glaive, Cain might be next. But the others were right too. They had their mission to complete. And Cain would want to battle with Reaper alone. It is his way. Still…

"You're not planning on coming with us, are you?" 

"There's nothing else to do, but go forward." Koemai continued. When he got no response, he smiled. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll catch up. He has a way of doing that sometimes."

Elijah simply stared at the distant battle, knowing that he has to do what he has to do. And Cain would do no less. If anything, he had taught him that as such. And Koemai was right too. Cain had a way of surprising them in times of need.

"_If we meet up again, I will take up the name of Salvation. See you in Silent Line."_

"Okay."

With that, the group of remaining AC marched away, leaving their comrade to whatever fate demanded. Elijah took one last look back and whispered.

"You had better be there."


	38. Sword and Death

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 37

-

Out of all the Ravens of the clan of Nightwatch, only Cain was the one not to receive the alert signal, for two special reasons. One, As part of the plan, Cain was to keep Reaper occupied while the others went to work. Reaper had an interesting way of turning such battles and strategies around and they would be able to fend off the other Death Dealers without worrying about him. Thus, when the battles started, Cain made sure to take the fight away from the others so that Reaper would not know what happened.

The second reason was because Cain wanted it. He had a personal score with Reaper, one that he hasn't told his friends about, but that they knew was quite serious. Serious enough for the Raven to relinquish his title as the hand of Justice and hand it down to his former student, Elijah. Enough for the others to have to leave him behind while he fought the Death Dealer alone.

And possibly die…

-"Death is but a means to truth. So accept your truth. Die."-

The vertical swarmed down from out, diving in on Glaive who was pinned down by Reaper's laser scythes. Critical damage was imminent.

_'No. Not like this!'_

In a act of desperation, Glaive switched to his orbiter weapons and let them loose. The little mechanisms surrounded Reaper and fired. Seeing this, Reaper released Glaive in order to escape, giving Glaive the chance he needed to escape as the missiles flew down.

"Ah! Go!"

The OB ignited and Glaive flew out of the way just as the missiles came close. The projectile slammed into the grounds behind him and exploded, leaving a close trail of fire behind the AC. Glaive flew out of the resulting smoke, only to confront Reaper, who had finally dodged the orbiters. Scythes flashing out, Reaper came in for the assault. The first slash hit dead close to Glaive's head while the second on locked in with Glaive's energy sword.

-"You continue to persist. It is futile. You can not change your fate. Or hers."-

"Shut up!"

Glaive pushed back before Reaper could fire one of his inside rockets and came back in for the attack. The lengthy blade swooped out, almost hitting the dark AC in the core. Reaper fired the rocket, impacting the underside of Glaive's arm. Stunned, Glaive was almost helpless as the dark AC came in with his scythes. Glaive quickly activated his turn booster extensions to turn back and catch the blades with his own.

-"Your future is clear. You will share in her grave."-

"Shut up!"

Reaper pressed, but quickly backed away when the orbiters emerged again.Cain used the time to recover, but that was cut short by the sound of Reaper's vertical warheads taking to flight again. Gliave held still for a moment and when they flew in close, he shot off to the side and then the air. Many of the missiles missed and hit the ground while two of them stayed on him. But then a bigger problem came up.

Reaper was in the air with him…

The two machines crashed into each other with resounding force and both were sent plummeting to the ground. The machine managed to land feet-first, but the weapons of their earlier attack came upon them. Reaper was shot with a few energy beams from the orbiters while Glaive was hit with the remaining vertical missiles. Reaper recovered first and again took to the air, scythes aflare. Glaive followed with his own blade and the two ripped at each other.

_Fsshhhhh!_

The two machine hit each other backward and it seemed that Glaive took more of the brunt of the strike because it fell back down to the ground. Glaive looked up to see Reaper diving in on him and once more raised his laser sword to block. Reaper slammed down hard and Glaive was driven to one knee once again, the curve of the scythe stabbing into his orbiter cannon, rendering it useless. A lock-on alert and once more, the vertical warheads took too the air. And without his orbiter cannon, Glaive was powerless to stop it.

-"And now it ends."-

* * *

A distance away from the battle, the remaining members of the Nightwatch clan stand assembled. The ACs were stationed on low platforms with numerous technicians and mechanics going to work on repairing the damaged units and weapons. Nearby, a couple of heavily armor airplanes hum in wait, ready to take the group into the heart of Silent Line itself. While this work went on, the Raven themselves remained within, waiting for the repairs to be completed. From the AC Cloak, Diana looks over at the Bloodhand AC and opens a private channel.

"How bad is it?"

"Don't worry." Koemai answered, just as he finished bandaging his wound and putting his flight suit back on. "It's…"

She quietly cut him off. "Don't. Not now. I need to know."

Koemai took a deep sigh and then answered. "It's not too serious, Di. Really." Her AC seemed to stare at him and he sighed once more, imagining her face doing the same thing, which it probably was. "But I will be a second or two slower."

Diana nodded. "Then I'll have to be a second or two faster."

Just then, Charles broke in an open channel. "Okay guys. Listen up. We're two men short so our work is cut out for us. Once we hit the ground, move to these coordinates." He sent them the information, to which they received and installed in their area map computers. Charles continued. "Expect a fight as soon as you get there, but don't stop moving. Get inside the hanger as soon as you can and find the control terminus. Disable it and the mission is complete."

"Understood." Elijah replied.

Charles then became silent for a moment and then spoke again, more quietly. "We've lost a comrade and may possibly lose another. Death is always a possibility, but I want all of you to survive. If you feel you can not continue on, say so now. Once we're in there, there's no turning back."

Koemai was the first to answer. "We've come this far. No sense in turning back now."

"Besides, we've already passed the point of no return." Diana added.

"And I have a drink waiting for me on the other side." Elijah added further.

Ellie simply replied. "You already know how I feel."

"Very well then." The Nightwatch leader nodded. At that time, the signal light came up, informing them that repairs were complete and that their cores were at 100 percent. The five machines all lifted their heads in activation and Charles motioned.

"Let's go."

The five machines strode over to their individual carriers and began to enter. Due to the strategy of the attack, there was only enough space for the AC alone as the surrounding armor would protect them mostly from the laser blast that would rain down from the sky.

"Charles."

Professional paused as he turned to the one who called. Elijah…

"What is it?"

"Cain _will_ make it." he said firmly.

The lead Raven said nothing and simply entered inside. As the hatches closed, Charles simply thought to himself.

'_I hope so.'_

* * *

As the missiles came in on approach, Cain struggled within, not only to force Reaper off, but to ward off the echoes of his taunts. But it proved useless and his mind was soon filled with voices of doubt and despair._"Ravens are a symbol of an approaching death… We are harbingers of death…"_

"_You tried to hide her from me. But nothing escapes the eyes of death. Nothing escapes the hand of death."_

"_Death is but a means to truth. So accept your truth. Die."_

"_You can not change your fate. Or hers."_

"_Your future is clear. You will share in your wife's grave."_

"NO!"

In a burst of rage and desperation, Glaive powered out of the hooking hold, forcefully pushing back Reaper and then soared out of way to the descending missiles with his OB. Bane was a bit surprised by the action. _'He is desperate. Good. This means that I have won.'_

But that may have been premature because Glaive swooped back and attacked. The laser sword swooped out in a rush of wind, nearly slicing through Reaper's midsection. The dark AC backed away, but Glaive's OB ignited again and he was instantly upon him once more. Reaper lifted a scythe to defend, but the force of the blow pushed him back, tearing up some of the ground. A moment after, Glaive's orbiter cannon fired, shooting Reaper as he was held.

_'What the…? He's using my own strategy?'_

But the only difference was that the shots connected, tearing up pieces of armor on Reaper's backside. Reaper managed to push out and then another thing occurred to him. _'How did he fix his cannon so quickly? I rendered it useless.'_ Glaive came in and again Reaper was in a lock. Bane moved to retaliate, arming the inside rockets only to find that they had been disabled.

'_What the…? The first slash…was at my weapon?'_

Something was very wrong here. Cain should be a wrecked shell now, acting only on instinct, desperation and rage. It would have made it easier for Reaper as he could use Cain's mistakes to end his life. And while the anger was still there, he saw none of the other two. Not only that, but Cain was planning out strategies and repairing his machine in limited time. A person fighting out of desperation wouldn't have thought at all.

_'What the pit are you, Cain?_' 

Pushing the thought away, Bane pressed hard on the controls, causing Reaper to push back Glaive, though not as forcefully as Glaive had pushed him. And certainly not enough to escape the white machine's wrath as it came in again. But this time, Reaper strafed to the side, dodging Glaive entirely. Glaive's turn boosters flared, putting Reaper back in his sights again. But by that time, Reaper was airborne.

A second later, so was Glaive…

Reaper had hoped to get some space and time before Glaive could come again. But that option was gone as Glaive and Reaper clashed again. The force had hit them both back, but Glaive came in and attacked again. Bane had finally had enough and charged in himself. He didn't know what was going on with his rival, but he had to put a stop to it now. Another air clash, far more forceful than the last and enough to knock both AC down to the ground again, hard. Reaper arose slowly, with the Raven inside shaken by the shock of the blow. But it appeared that Glaive had suffered worse. The machine was down on one knee, with electrical sparks flowing around the right leg, enough to tell Bane that the crash had damaged it badly. Glaive would no longer be able to come at him so relentlessly and that would give him the advantage he needed. Reaper's scythes shimmered in view.

-"It's time."-

"Yes. It is."

Bane blinked as Glaive slowly rose up on both legs. The sparks intensified on the leg, but that didn't seem to matter to Glaive as the blue-white sword stretched out. Bane looked at his rival and then realized what he saw. Determination… and something else… Bane also knew that this would be Glaive's last attack. With all the earlier attacks, there was no way a Raven, even one like Cain, would be able to hold up under such stress for long. So he would wait. He knew what would happen. Glaive would come in one final charge and Reaper would wait. The Moonlight sword would fly out and then Reaper will make his move.

The finishing cut…

He would miss his opponent. This had been the most extensive fight he had ever been in. No one had force Reaper to his own limits like Cain had with his Glaive. But Death does not play favorites. It would take his life and that would be the end of it. Glaive's OB boosters began to flare, just as he predicted. A burst later, Glaive flew at him. Glaive came in close when Reaper made his move.

And it was over…


	39. Gates and Guardians

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

AN: This chapter is a bit short, but necessary.

-

Chap. 28

-

**00:15**

The aircraft slowly flew through the sky toward the terrain of Silent Line, carrying the five ACs onboard along with their respective pilots. The planes were automated, so the only living people on them were the Ravens themselves.

**00:10**

The planes slowly drew closer and the Ravens on board prepared for what would be a very bumpy landing. The skyline was misty and the skies themselves were gray. It seemed as though the area itself was cursed.

**00:05**

Tension hit the Ravens as the timer began to count down to its last seconds. Each one of them took a firm hold on the controls they got ready for what was to happen next.

**00:00**

_Fssh! Fssh! Fssh!_

Several flashes of energy fell down from the sky like crystal lightning. The beams tore right at the carrier aircraft, destroying them and sent the remains plummeting toward the earth. The flaming wreckage smashed down onto the trees and ground and the flames began to spread. Yet despite this, movement could be seen within the debris and one by one, the ACs burst out. Without a word, each Raven shot off, heading toward the designated coordinates.

Except for one…

"Damn it!"

Havoc was still jammed within the wreckage. The armor structure of his airplane had been melted inward by the energy blast and now his machine was stuck inside the core. Flames and smoke filled up the viewscreen as the temperature tolerance of his core began to skyrocket.

_'Come on, go!'_

Havoc jerked through the debris, but it was still unable to get out. The temperature grew hotter and soon his AP began to slowly decrease. The machine struggled, but the debris was too much for it to pry through.

"Rahhhhh!"

Suddenly, the metal overhead began to peel away and Havoc didn't waste any time in moving toward the possible exit. As the opening grew, Havoc pushed the metal away itself along with whatever force it was that was moving it. Finally, the AC emerged out of the core of the wreckage to find Bloodhand moving back to pick up its discarded weaponry.

"Why didn't you go on?"

"We're the Hands of God. Vengeance and Justice. We work together."

Elijah gave a brief smile before his sensors alerted him to incoming fire. More satellite beams soared down from above, ready to vaporize the two. Without a second thought, the two Ravens hit their boosters to full and sped away, just as the beam came down and incinerated the last of the debris. Looking on ahead, Elijah could see the others soaring through the low forest, outflying and dodging any of the beams that came their way.

And there were a lot of beams…

* * *

Check her rear radar, Ellie saw Bloodhand and Havoc fly from the crash site and follow them through the line. Though they had been ordered to go immediately toward the coordinates, she was glad that Koemai stayed behind to help his friend. They needed as much help as they could get on this journey. 

Besides…they've lost one friend already…

Focusing back on her task, Ellie flew through the trees. She wasn't having as much trouble as the others was in dodging the beams. Only Diana seemed to be doing better in terms of speed to avoid them. Nevertheless, the energy beams were relentless, firing down upon them every five or less seconds with lightning death. And they still had some distance to go before they reached their destination…

…Where more trouble awaited them.

A spike of energy soon blasted down right in front of her, forcing her to veer off around to avoid it. But just then another struck down, close to where she was maneuvering. Again, she swooped away by just a sliver. _'What's going on?'_ The frequency of the blasts was increasing, making it more difficult to dodge. While this made things vastly more difficult, it also told her one vital thing.

They were close to something…

Checking on the other, she saw they were having similar problems as well, but were making great effort to press on. She was glad that no one had been taken out and all were accounted for.

Almost all…

She thought back to Cain and the personal battle he was waging now. The chances of survival at his mental condition seemed low, but she had seen the Raven fight enough times to know that what he was capable of. Though survival was slim, he had a good bet in her book. Which was more than what they had right now until…

They stopped…

* * *

The satellite beams just stopped firing altogether and the scene became calm. Within Professional, Charles regarded this with great unease as his machine finally reached the coordinates. Just as he had seen in the past, there was an old structure bunker. Machinery of various types stood around, rusting away in the wind and dirt. The scene with silent and quiet and Charles didn't like it one bit. _'The eye of the hurricane…'_

And his fear proved true, for when his AC moved in close enough, three blips lit up on his radar and a second later, he was besieged by heavy fire. Three white MTs marched out of their hiding places and opened fire on the intruders. _'That's the same MT type I faced in that factory'_, Elijah thought as Havoc strafed of to the side to avoid fire. The trio of white machine went to work, dispersing the clan in separate directions. Koemai was the first to fire back, unloading with his machine gun on the one advancing toward him. He was surprised to see that not only was the machine still coming at him, but there wasn't a single scratch of damage on it.

_'What the hell…?'_

In return, the MT fired back with bullets of its own. Bloodhand managed to strafe, but one of the bullets hit the shoulder, leaving a nice deep dent. _'A chain gun and a grenade launcher. Just great. How could it get worse?'_

He'll wish he hadn't thought that, for the machine soon became stationary and unfolded a cannon-head around the arm. Next thing Koemai knew, he was assaulted by high-energy plasma bolts. Bloodhand evaded the shots, but they were still powerful enough to rattle the machine and almost force him to fall. The MT stood back up and continued its assault on the Raven.

'_Well, I didn't think it would be easy.'_

* * *

On the site outside Silent Line, the dark shadow of an AC moved forward for repairs. The crewmen turned to see it, but the light behind it masked its appearance. They were sure of one color though. 

Black…


	40. Descent

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

AN: Another short chapter. Sorry. Working on it.

-

Chap. 39

-

The bunker area was alit with fire and destruction as the Nightwatch clan was pressed in battle against the three MT. Despite being fewer in number, the ivory machines had the firepower to back them up as well as the heavy defense to repel the AC's attacks. Professional and Havoc were locked in battle with one while Cloak and Phantom were dealing with another.

That left Bloodhand to deal with one on his own.

"Come and get me, you piece of trash!"

Bloodhand skipped backwards as it fired upon the MT, unloading whatever it could on the machine. To his credit, there was damage on it, but despite that, it was still coming after him. A grenade shell flew out from the machine's back and impacted with a structure, missing Bloodhand's head by just a few inches. And it had the scorching burn marks to prove it. Strafing to the right, Bloodhand fired wildly, his machine gun going on seemingly endlessly. The white machine stopped and took the fire, but only because it was now settling down.

_'Oh, crap. Not this again!'_

The MT's plasma blasts soon shot out at the AC, shredding and demolishing anything it came near to and hit. Luckily, none of that was Bloodhand, but unfortunately, he was no closer to beating this brute than before. Koemai frowned within and glanced over at his compatriots. At least they have a two-on-one advantage. _'Everyone gets all the luck.'_ He could have had backup if Cain was there with him…

If he was there…

On his previous missions, whenever things were tough, his partner was there with him, slugging it out and dishing out vengeance/justice on whomever they fought. They were the team of teams, the Hands of God. But as time passed, it seemed, his partner drifted from him to take care of his own responsibilities. He didn't mind it though. _'A man's go to do what a man's go to do.'_ But he didn't leave him alone. Justice was there, just with a different face. And if they were going to make this work, then he had to shut up and fight.

**TKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTK!**

* * *

Meanwhile, on another part of the battlefield, Professional and Havoc worked together to bring down the white MT. Though they weren't fighting as hard as Bloodhand, the battle was still difficult. Havoc occupied it was a couple of round, causing it to be distracted long enough of Professional to set up his grenade launchers and fire down of the machine. The two went through this tactic a while now and so far, it was their best bet. The only problem was dealing with the MT's reaction time. It seemed to catch on quickly enough to dish out its own damage on the two. 'Whatever AI system that is used to run it, it much be quite advanced' Charles though as Professional broke away in run from a flying grenade. This only served to reinforce his mission to breach the Line. He had to see what was in there. But he had to get through his current battle first. 

Which brought to mind his current partner, Elijah. Charles was impressed by how the youth managed to fallen two Death Dealers on his own and he also was impressed by his current skill. Havoc was firing, but not wildly. He was taking his shots when necessary and never using more than he need to. That was quite different than the boy he first met up with. Before, he had only accepted Elijah into the clan in order to gain Cain. But now it seemed that Elijah had developed into a true Raven.

'_He's left the nest and flying on his own.'_

Reminiscing over, Professional targeted with his dual grenade launcher and locked on to the distracted MT.

**BLAM! BLAM!**

* * *

Koemai was once again reduced to dodging the MT. Despite the good shots he got it, the thing keep coming. He already realized that his machine gun wasn't having such a great effect on it. He couldn't settle down and use any of his back weapons. By the time he had a clear shot, the MT would be on him and he may not recover from such an assault. He could try going in close range, but his laser blade was much shorter than many other such blades. He would have to get in really close for it to be truly effective. And getting close to this guy was a negative. 

Unless…

He would have to wait for this one. And he would hurt himself more in the process even if he got it right. But he couldn't keep up this pace forever. And he couldn't wait for the others to come and help him at the moment.

_'Do or die time…'_

Bloodhand suddenly stopped fly altogether and stood still, strangely enough, causing a grenade blast that was flying at him from ahead to miss. The MT soared in and landed, firing its chain gun weaponry. Bloodhand strafed back, but not by much and he kept to the ground. Missiles came at him next, but he allowed them to hit him, using the shield extensions he had to weaken the hits.

'_Come on, you overgrown toaster oven. You know what you want to do.'_

The MT soon settled as well and unfolded its plasma cannon arm. _'Gotcha!'_ Bloodhand suddenly discarded most of his weaponry and flew right at the MT. Had the machine have a pilot, he or she would have been pretty surprised. But since that wasn't the case, the MT simply locked on and fired. Bloodhand skipped to the side and continued coming. Without the weight of his weapons slowing him down, he could get in close and hopefully finish this. When he came within range, the laser blade flashed out in a glow of orange and he attacked.

"Guh!"

However, the increased speed of the blade coming from a flying AC, put pressure of Koemai and he felt the impact it as soon as he attacked. His blade still hit the target, but not as damaging as he planned on and only left a gash on the side of the machine. The MT began rise from is cannon stance and resume his attack. Bloodhand began to move away, but Koemai was still trying to fight off the pressured pain he had and this slowed him down a bit.

"…_I will be a second or two slower."_

The truth was more deadly that he realized now as the MT fired a grenade blast at him. Out of desperation, he dodged it, but not totally and was caught in by the shockwave, nearly hurling Bloodhand to the ground. Koemai grunted, taking control of his machine, but the MT began to close in on him, ready to press the attack.

**PSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH!**

Koemai feared that it was the MT using its plasma shots again and braced for impact. But as he looked, he saw something else entirely. A white stream of energy flew out of nowhere, hitting the MT on the side. Koemai might have been wrong (or delirious), but he could see the MT taking severe damage. Both machines turned to the source of the attack.

"Say cheese."

A second laser stream fired out from the laser cannon of Cloak, hitting the machine square-on and actually causing it to reel. But the MT was far from finished and launched a salvo of missiles at her. Cloak disengaged and moved away while Bloodhand moved in. Her attack had given him just the time and opening he needed to correct his mistake.

"Eat this!"

Instead of slashing, Koemai stabbed his blade right into the MT. The machine tried to turn to him, but Bloodhand continued to drive the blade in until the hand of his machine disappeared within the thick armor. The MT shuddered and shook and Koemai pulled out and moved Bloodhand away from what would be a classic, old fashioned explosion.

**KABOOOOOMMMM!**

Koemai sighed in relief and turned to his savior, Diana. Bloodhand waved at her and she waved back in return.

"_Then I'll have to be a second or two faster."_

Just then, an explosion echoed from nearby. As Bloodhand went to retrieve his fallen weaponry, Cloak flew in to investigate. It was probably another fuel tank exploding. At least, that was how they got rid of theirs. Along with Phantom, the two of them wove around the MT, taking shots one by one. With their speed, it was easy enough to evade it, but their initial weaponry lacked power and they could afford to settle for their cores would be more prone to damage. But as it turned out, they didn't need to. As they were fighting, the MT landed on top of a old fuel tanker. Taking a chance, Phantom had fired at it itself, result in engulfing the MT in a big explosion.

And it still kept going…

But the damage was significant enough for them to finish it off with few difficulties and soon it fell. Seeing their comrades still in battle, Ellie flew off to aid Professional and Havoc while Diana went to Bloodhand. Now that Bloodhand was safe, Diana went to check on the explosion and was pleased to find that the source was the third MT. Its smoldering bits smoked on the dry ground with the remaining three standing over it.

"Well, that was interesting." Ellie muttered from Phantom.

"That's a way of saying it." Diana said in response. "I can't believe it takes so much to beat these things."

"We didn't."

Diana turned to look at Havoc, in which Elijah had answered her. "Huh?"

Charles answered her. "We didn't beat it. It self-detonated."

"It…blew itself up?" Koemai asked as he flew into the scene.

"It was trying to get in close to Charles and blow him up with it." Ellie explained. Luckily, Elijah and I slowed it down enough before it blew."

"These things are a lot smarter than they seem." Charles continued. "It knew it couldn't survive against the three of us so it tried to reduce our numbers."

Of course, the implications of this were not lost on anyone. Reduction of numbers is a move of preparation. Something else was waiting for them. Something below knows they are coming.

And it was smart…

Suddenly, a red beam of light shone down just behind Phantom. The AC quickly flew away just as a massive beam of light shot down from the sky. Looking around, the entire team saw similar beam forming around them, one by one. The satellite cannon…

"Let get in, now!"

All were in quick agreement as they flew into the bunker where a massive elevator awaited them. Entering in, the elevator doors closed behind them and took them down.

Down into the true mystery of Silent Line…


	41. Greater Forces

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 40

-

The elevator doors soon opened and the clan stepped out into another doorway. Professional strode up to it and input the key sequence to open the door. There, they entered into a massive room, deserted and with the exit above them, near a hazy light than shone.

"Well, this is spooky." Elijah said

"Not the time to be loosing your nerve, kid." Koemai retorted.

The Raven of Havoc frowned. "I'm not. But this place is way too quiet."

"He is right about that." Diana agreed from Cloak.

"Just stay on your toes." Charles cautioned. "Anything could happen."

Professional continued to lead, flaring his boosters in order to fly up to the next doorway. The others followed and after opening the next door, they found a long corridor behind it.

"Hm. A gauntlet."

Ellie chuckled lightly at Charles' comment. "That obvious, huh?"

The boosters of Phantom now flared to life and the sleek machine soared through the corridor. As she did, the walls and ceiling came alive with gun turrets, all wheeling around to target her. But as they did, they were unable to focus on the true threats; the four ACs that targeted them as soon as they emerged.

**TKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKKTKTKTKTKTKTK!**

Seven turrets were all blown up before the automated weapon wheeled back and fired on them. At that point, Phantom had reached the other end of the corridor and fired back, allowing them attacks on both ends. The team was hit by the scattered fire, but it was meaningless to the Armored Cores as they continued to destroy turret after turret until they were nothing but smoldering scraps of slag.

"Well, that wasn't so hard." Elijah sighed, his Havoc still spewing light mists of smoke from its machine gun.

"Don't jinx it." Diana replied jovially as they continued on. By the time they reached the end of the corridor, Phantom had just opened the door, allowing them to simply fly on through and enter into a bigger chamber room than before. No sooner did the door close behind them that an alarm rang aloud and the place became lit up with more gun turrets.

A lot more…

* * *

On the surface above, the terrain had returned to the calm that possessed it before. Aside from the few stray fires that burned from the fallen aircraft, it had returned to it normal silence.

And then a streak of light in the cloudy skies changed that…

The clouds began to glow, seemingly as if it was on fire. It was until a loud wailing sound could be heard when it was seen that the clouds were on fire. Or better yet, something within them. A carrier aircraft plummeted from the skies above, a new victim to the satellite cannons that guarded Silent Line. The plane slammed hard into the ground, leaving a trail of fire in its wake as it drove through and ultimately stopped. As the fire raged, there was movement within the wreckage and suddenly, an object exploded out of it. An AC stood up from the fires, looking ahead at the terrain briefly before rocketing off into the distance.

"Let the fall begin… Let the skies burn… And let the heavens rain their last fury…"

* * *

"Evasive action!"

They didn't need to be told twice as the clan scrambled and fired back, destroying whatever turrets they could lock on too. But unlike the corridor, they were at a severe disadvantage. They had no clue as to the design of the chamber and the turrets were practically everywhere. And not just gun turrets. Energy beams were flying out at them as well.

"This is crazy!" Diana yelled as he was cornered against the wall by a couple of attacks.

Behind her, Phantom suddenly off to the side. "There's an entrance. This way!"

Cloak moved in behind and was followed by Havoc. Phantom reached the door and began unlocking it. The beams and bullets tore at the back of the core, wearing it out and causing significant damage. But Ellie paid it no mind as she worked to open the door. Havoc and Cloak soon soared behind her, firing at the turrets and buy her some time. More emerged from their hiding places, but by that time, Ellie had opened the door and the trio entered in.

"Wait." Diana said. "Where are the others?"

Elijah quickly got on the comm. "Charles, Koemai, come in!"

-"Not so loud."- Koemai's voice came through a moment later. -"We can hear you."-

"We have a door open." Ellie informed. "Hurry up."

-"That's okay. We found an entrance of our own. We're safe for the moment."-

"Can you reach us?"

-"Negative."- The reply came from Charles this time. -"Those gun turrets are still active. It's too dangerous to head back in there. We'll have to continue on and hope to meet up along the way."-

"Koemai…"

The worried voice of Diana came over and the Raven on the other end knew what she was secretly asking and wondering. They all did at this point.

"Don't worry, Di." came a confident reply. "I'm not dying yet."

Diana nodded and turned her machine with the others. "We better get a move on then."

The three ACs marched slowly through yet another corridor. They didn't want to repeat what occurred in the chamber behind them. Turning a corner, they were soon attacked by…a single ceiling gun turret.

_Pzzzzzzhhhhh!_

A laser blast from Phantom ended that and they pressed on, facing another gun turret, which was quickly disposed of by Cloak. Reaching the end, they began unlocking the door .

"I'm detecting a large energy source." Ellie said as the door was unlocked. "I think we're getting close."

The door soon unlocked and shifted open before them. Elijah looked back at his female compatriots and grinned.

"Ladies first?"

When he got the dead silent treatment from the two, he simply shrugged and turned back.

"Just checking."

Taking the lead, Havoc marched into another chamber room. However, this was different from the first one, as it was cylinder in shape. Several red panels glowed around the circular room. But that wasn't what had their attention. In the center of the room…was another white MT. Its laser cannon was already unfurling in target lock.

"Aw, crap."

* * *

Meanwhile. Professsional and Bloodhand continued on their own path. During the firefight in the room, Koemai had managed to blow a hole in a grating on the side, giving both him and Charles an escape route. However, they were unable to join up with their comrades, as they were safe in another route so now they were forced to work separately. Charles didn't mind that too much though. This just improved their chances of success, even with smaller numbers on both fronts.

Koemai on the other hand was a bit on the worn side. The battle in the chamber had stressed out his side more than he thought. He could feel the beginnings of blood drip through the wrappings as tiny red spots were made evidence. But it was a minor worry. He had to put it off and focus on the job.

They were close. He could feel it…

"I'm getting a high-energy reading." Charles proclaimed. "We're getting close."

Koemai snorted. _'Or it could be that.'_ Moving through the airway, they soon found the grating exit. The reading indicated that it was right beyond it. Raising his machine gun, Bloodhand blasted another hole into the grating and the two machines jumped out.

They would not like what they jumped in to…

They had fell into a familiar cylinder-shaped room, with familiar red panels glowing around it, and a familiar white MT in the center, locking its weapons on to them.

"Son of a…"


	42. Efforts of Strain

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 41

-

"Move now!"

_**Pzzzzzhh! Pzzzzzhh! Pzzzzzhh! Pzzzzzhh!**_

The trio of Havoc, Phantom and Cloak all scattered away from the plasma energy blast of the white MT as the beams soared and tore at the door behind them. As the three moved to retaliate, the MT folded its cannon and resumed its attack, firing heavy rounds of grenades from its launcher, causing them to spread apart once more.

"I can't believe we're dealing with this again." Diana growled as she fired back.

The bullets of the machine gun hit their target, but as before, the heavy armor of the white MT made it ineffective and in return, the machine fired chain shots in lieu with its grenades. The grenade shells missed, but the chain gun bullets found their mark in Cloak's left shoulder, tearing off the extra shielding extension.

"Ghhh!"

Meanwhile, both Havoc and Phantom had managed to wheel around away from the machine's assault and fired together, with a combination of laser beams, howitzer shells, and machine gun fire. The machine took all the shots with barely a scratch and turned around to them and fired with its own combination of fire, which was vastly more devastating.

"Look out!"

The two machines dodged, but the shock from the grenade still hit them, sending them both spiraling to the ground. Due to the closeness of the space, the shock from the grenades was almost as bad as the shell itself. So even if the MT missed, the force of the shock would still hit, as the Raven of Phantom found out.

"Ah!"

Ellie moaned low as she was hit by shock and the crash and covered her face as a set of sparks erupted before her within the cockpit. _'Damn it. Not now.'_ The white MT turned on her and was ready to destroy when fire from the two remaining ACs diverted its attention.

"Ellie. Are you alright?" Elijah asked as he was pressed back by the MT.

"Yeah. But I don't think I will be of much help now."

Cloak swerved around another assault. "What do you mean? Are you hurt?"

"My AC's been hit bad. The control systems are mostly fried. I'm not sure I can get her moving again."

During the battle with the first set of white MTs, Phantom's control systems were badly damaged. She had been able to compensate for it with quick repairs, but that didn't hold up long after they entered the cannon chamber. And with the great shock from both the grenade launcher and the crash, that pretty much did it for the AC.

"I'm sorry. But you guys are on your own."

Diana heard the low tone she used in her voice; the one that spoke of the feeling of uselessness when it was needed. She felt the same way, now that she and Koemai were separated from each other. If he were in trouble now, she wouldn't be able to do a thing to help him.

But Elijah saw things differently…

"Just do what you can. We'll handle this guy."

Both Diana and Ellie blinked as Havoc suddenly charged at the white MT, moving feverishly to dodge the fire coming at him. The MT fired upon the machine and Havoc was forced to dodge altogether. Ellie then saw that he was working to buy some time and looked back at her controls.

"Alright, Phantom. Let's see what you have left."

Cloak soon soared along with Havoc, firing whenever she could, but mostly dodging due to the machines excessive fire. Luckily, her hover legs were key in her out maneuvering the bulky machine and with Havoc extra work as a distraction; she was able to get in a couple of decent shot. But the white MT's armor was quite thick and her weaponry wasn't doing anything more than ruining the paintjob.

_'What does it take to kill these guys?'_

Havoc was handling the hardest part of the job, serving as a distraction both for Ellie and Diana. He knew that their machines were lightweight and thus unable to take as much abuse as his; thus proven by Phantom's downfall. While Cloak worked on attacking from behind and Phantom in repairs, he had to keep the machine focused on him to buy time

For what, that was another story…

However, he remembered the words of his former teacher during his initial training. _'Time is our greatest obstacle, but it can also be our greatest weapon. If you can buy time, you can buy life.'_ He didn't understand it at first, despite seeing the numerous times when patience and waiting had served to be a great asset in battle. But now, the full extent of those words came in. Time had to be bought.

And he was a big spender…

But he didn't simply maneuver around in avoidance. Whenever he got the chance, he fired back, chipping away at the MT's armor. He knew it would take some time before the thing succumbed and was destroyed and in doing so, he would use up a lot of ammo that would most likely be needed later. If he could get in close and use his saber, that would be a big help. Even though it wasn't powerful enough to destroy it, it would do significant damage. But getting in close to that thing was just plain suicidal. In order for that to happen, someone else would have to be the bait and he couldn't risk that.

_'Time…Wait for an opening…'_

But time was suddenly cut short as the white MT suddenly veered away from him and began turning to the fallen Phantom. Its laser cannon arm unfurled and it began to lock on. Havoc flew immediately toward the machine, knowing that such an attack on her would mean utter and complete destruction.

"No! I won't let you! Not again!"

* * *

In another chamber, things were no different for Professional and Bloodhand, as they fought their own white MT. Because there were less of them in a closed environment, it would be natural for the two Ravens to have the advantage. But that wasn't the case as the white MT hammered in on the relentlessly, cornering them near the very entrance they had come in.

"What the hell! This is utter crap!"

Charles grimaced in agreement, trying to find a way around the machine, but finding his efforts to be wasted as they were being cornered in like rats. _'There has got to be a way around this. Wait, that's the problem. We've been trying to get around him.'_

"Koemai. Go _above_ him!"

Koemai turned to his comrade for a moment and looked back and his eyes widened. Although there wasn't much space, there was sufficient room to fly above the white machine and get back in the game. But with the way the machine was blasting at them, flight could land them in more serious trouble, as they would have to go toward the machine.

_'More trouble than this? Like hell!'_

Immediately, the two ACs flared up their boosters and moved to the air. The white MT traced them and fired. Professional managed to weave around the gunfire, but Bloodhand wasn't as lucky as the pain of his freshly reopened wound caught Koemai by surprise.

"Gh!"

It was only a moment, and it was enough for the white MT to hit him with a salvo of chain-gun fire. Luckily, the extra armor extension held, but the dark AC drifted off to the side and landed heavily back on the ground, with the Raven wincing inside.

"Gah!"

Bloodhand stumbled on one knee, the fall damaging some of the circuits in its right knee. And to make matters worse, the white MT was now focused solely on him. In rush, Koemai flared the engines to move, but he was barely able to get a forward momentum when a grenade shell exploded in front of him, with the shock knocking his machine back again. Koemai was a little disoriented, but okay. If that had been a direct hit, he would have been in serious trouble.

Kind of like the trouble he was in right now…

As the machine continued to advance on him, it was bombarded by a set of grenade shells. Professional had managed to settle in and use his dual grenade launcher in attack. But this puzzled Koemai somewhat. _'Why didn't he use it in flight like he usually does?'_ That was until he saw Professional's extensions, or what was left of them, on the floor. At some point during the early bombardment, Professional had been hit and Charles simply discarded the extensions. The white MT soon turned back to Professional and the tan machine broke out of its stance and took to flight, a second before the firing started again. Koemai saw this too, seeing that without his extensions, Charles would be unable to use his grenade launchers effectively again and his only offensive was his sniper rifle, which was somewhat poor in a battle like this.

'_That means I'll have to get my carcass up and help, before that machine takes a shine to me again.'_

Gritting his teeth, Koemai pressed his machine to rise and it seemed that Bloodhand seem to be sharing the same pain as its Raven. Nevertheless, Bloodhand was on its feet and soaring in. The white MT was on its side, so Koemai had to move in fast. The pain increased due to the speed, but he bore it down as his machine ignited it laser blade. The white MT noticed his approach and turned to him, but by that time, Bloodhand was in its face, its orange blade flying.

"RAHHHHHHH!"

The blade hit home, razing the side of the machine and leaving a glowing gash in its wake. But the white MT didn't fall and simply turned sharply, knocking down Bloodhand with its cannon arm.

_'Not again…Guahh!'_

Bloodhand crashed down and the white MT began to bear on it. Charles saw this and flicked a few of his switches within the cockpit. The view of the FCS screen changed and Professional locked solely on his sniper rifle, pinpointing the blade damage on the white machine.

_'Come on…training sight…there!'_

Profession took a single shot, hitting the machine from within. Koemai looked at him like he was nuts. _'What the hell was that supposed to…?'_ But his question was answer when the MT began to jerk around and sputter sparks. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that Charles had hit something critical and the thing was able to explode. Grabbing the controls and yanking hard, Koemai quickly flew off the ground and out of the way, just as the machine exploded behind him.

**KABOOOOOMMMMM!**

Koemai looked at the wreckage in relief and then back at Professional. That machine had made a pinpoint accurate shot. No machine he knew could do anything like that. No Raven could either.

"How the hell do you do that?"

Professional simply lifted its rifle as Charles answered him.

"Tricks of the trade, my friend."

_A professional indeed…_

* * *

Havoc soared straight and true as the white MT locked on to the fallen Phantom. But even as he went, he realized that what he was doing was pointless. Even if he hit the MT, the blade would do only minimal damage and it would not stop it from firing on Ellie. And given the state her machine was in, she would not survive the plasma cannon assault that the MT was readying.

"NO!"

The blade of his AC ignited, ready to slash down. But before he could strike, it soon occurred to him. 'I can…yes!' Havoc soon veered off slightly to the side and the blade descended on the machine.

_Slicing the cannon itself…_

The result was an explosion of white, knocking Havoc back. The MT had fired at the same time that Havoc had sliced its cannon, resulting in a self-implosion and explosion of energy. Havoc was slammed near the wall. Its laser blade was gone, but it had served its purpose. Phantom was safe and the white MT had been blasted. _'I can't believe I didn't think about that…'_

But his thoughts were cut as he saw the white MT emerge from the fading light of the explosion. Its entire right arm and plasma cannon were gone, but it was still armed with the rest of its weaponry and it began to focus that weaponry on Havoc.

'_This sucks.'_

He almost didn't hear the swarm of missiles that flew from behind the machine and soon, the white MT was hammered from the back. _'Huh…Dual warheads...? Those are Phantom's weapons!'_ True enough, the fallen AC was smoking from the back after firing the weapons. Ellie had managed to reroute and fix the controls of her strongest weapon. The white MT was now in sparks, turning back slowly in order to deal with Phantom. But it would never get the chance, for it was torn apart by high energy cannon blast couple with a few howitzer shells. _'Diana…'_ The white MT, no longer able to take any more abuse, crashed to the ground and exploded before them all. Elijah pulled his machine upright and grimaced at the smoldering remains.

"I don't get paid enough for this."


	43. The Final Pathway

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

-

Chap. 42

-

The cockpit hatch of Phantom opened up and Ellie exited her machine to survey the damage. Black cinder marks were strewn all over the AC and the joints electrified with significant damage. But it wasn't the outside that was messed up. The controls were all fused and fried badly and in need of extensive repairs. It had taken a lot just to arm the dual warhead missiles and fire them on the MT. But for all intents and purposes, Phantom was finished.

"How bad is it?"

From behind her, Havoc and Cloak came up to her wrecked machine. Ellie looked at them briefly and then sighed. "Controls are totally busted. Total system failure." She lowered her head sadly. "She won't fly again."

Ellie lifted her head on the sound of Havoc bending down in front of her machine and the cockpit hatch opening up. Peering out, Elijah waved at her from above.

"Get in."

But Ellie shook her head. "No. I'll only slow you down. You'll have to go on without me."

It was true that entering the cockpit with Elijah would only slow him down. With little room for her in there along with him, she would be in his way. If they encounter any battles (and they more than likely would), his reaction speed would be reduced, not something that should be happening in a place like this.

"Don't be silly. Get in."

Surprisingly, this came from Diana. Ellie looked hard at the AC, visualizing the woman within. She would have thought that Diana would be more reasonable than this. They were deep within Silent Line and they couldn't take any chances here. Considering the battles they've been in, they couldn't afford to. However, Diana was finished speaking.

"We don't leave anyone behind. Not when we're this close to the end."

Ellie was silent as she heard those words, but she frowned within. She wanted to be rational about the situation. But she just couldn't. She couldn't dismiss the care that was shown for her here. Though without a core, they refuse to leave one of their own behind. They were a clan, a team. It was together that they managed to make it this far at all.

And it would be together that they finish this…

Without word, she strode over to Havoc and climbed up toward the cockpit. _'I guess this is where we part ways'_ she thought as she took once last glance at her AC. _'Goodbye Phantom.'_ Looking back toward Havoc, she saw that she was right in her earlier assessment of room within the cockpit, leaving her little choice but to sit on his lap.

"Just…don't get any ideas." she said quietly.

Elijah remained quiet, hoping that she didn't see the flush beginning to form on his face.

* * *

In the second chamber, Professional and Bloodhand were searching the chamber. There was no other entrance aside from the one they had entered into and that simply lead back to the gunnery room, a place they were fairly certain they didn't want to head back to. But there had to be another pathway, something they hadn't seen yet. As Bloodhand scanned around, Koemai let out a light moan and rubbed his injured side. Pulling his hand back, he found spots of blood on it and upon inspecting; he saw that the bandage he had set up was beginning to leak once again.

"You're hurt."

Koemai looked up as Charles made that statement. "It's nothing I can't handle."

"I'm not Diana." Charles replied back sharply. "You're hurt badly. I saw it in your movements. You're better off staying put here."

"Like hell I am. I'm going on."

Charles frowned almost as much as Koemai was right now, but continued to try and rationalize things to him. "This isn't the type of mission to be trusting in bravado. Just stay back and…"

Koemai cut him off. "I don't think you're listening. I'm going on." He paused for a moment to massage his wound. "You're right. I am hurt and I'll probably get myself killed this way. But you are wrong about one thing." The next line he said was laced with determination. "This mission is _all_ about bravado, _all_ about guts. No one would've taken this mission otherwise."

Charles was quiet as he considered Koemai's words. All of what he said was true. Especially for Charles. He was driven to come back here, to finish what he had done years ago. That wasn't rational thinking, he knew.

"Unless they're insane." he said finally.

Koemai gave a light chuckle. "Heh… Either way, I'm going on.

Charles gave a light grin. "Well, you can at least serve as a decent distraction."

"Funny guy." Koemai retorted. "Now, how about we find a way out of this."

Nodding in agreement, Charles rechecked his sensors. Since Professional's radar was a higher quality than Bloodhand's, he would be able to detect things sooner than Koemai. "The energy readouts are strong. We must be close. But they seem to be coming from…" His eyes narrowed. "…below."

"Wait a minute. Below?"

"Yes. Which means…" The eyes of the Nightwatch leader suddenly widened. "I don't believe it."

"What, what is it?"

Professional turned to him as Charles answered his question. "The door. We're _standing_ on it."

* * *

"We're standing on it?"

In the second chamber room, group two had just discerned the same thing Charles had. Actually, it was Ellie who discovered it after examining the structure of the chamber and noticed something amiss. That and the fact that the energy readout Diana informed them came from below them verified this fact to her.

"Yep." Her eyes continued to sweep across the floor of the chamber. "These cracks, they're locks. This is the gate to…whatever it is that's down there."

"Okay. Let's say you're right." Diana replied. "How do we open it?"

"I'm still working on that one."

Looking past Ellie, Elijah did a search of his own. So far, he was in the same boat as the other. There seemed to be no computer terminal to key into in order to open the door. The only thing in the chamber aside from them and the wreckage of the white MT where the…

'_Hold on.'_ His eyes jumped back down to the cracks on the floor and he traced them right up, right to the side of the walls where he made the connection.

"There. Those lights line up with the cracks." he announced. "They must be the locking mechanisms for the door."

Ellie blinked as she realized that he may have been on to something. _'How did I miss that?'_ Now that she saw it, it was so obvious, due to its downright simplicity. Diana moved her core around to look at the glowing lights.

"Well, let's give it a shot."

The two cores moved over to each individual light, pressing it like a button and causing it to change from blue to green. When Havoc clicked on the final light, a low rumbling echoed beneath them and soon the cracks on the floor began to divide and give way, shifting inward and opening a hole to them both. When the door was fully opened, the group was faced with a descending pit. The walls glowed with bluish energy and there were silver insteps that lined all the way to the bottom.

"Now this is seriously cool."

* * *

In the room behind the two groups, the weaponry stood silent and still. After the team divided and escaped, the gun batteries went into their standby mode once again. There hasn't been a living soul there for an untold amount years, yet these weapons remained ready as though they were sentinels, ever ready and waiting for when anyone tries to approach their territory.

_Beep…_

The sensor wire in the outside corridor had been tripped, alerting the machines that something was approaching. In synched unison, all gun batteries turned toward the entrance, ready for whatever it was that would enter, obeying only their sole command to fire on sight.

_Beep, beep…_

The second wire... The intruder was now just outside the door. Target locks began to light up from each battery, focusing on the targeted object just outside the door before it even entered. A moment later, the door shifted open and a single AC strode in. The machine gazed around in the room and walked in further. No sooner after the door close behind it did the machines followed the programming inputted into them.

Destroy all intruders…

* * *

"So, do you want to jump in first or should I?"

Koemai and Charles manage to discover the entrance to the lower chamber of the complex through the lights. (In actuality, Koemai accidentally pressed it after an attempt to shoot the doors, to which Charles had insisted, was a silly idea, but noticed the light change and figured it out from there.) The two ACs were now gazing down the luminous structure beneath them.

"These energy readouts are greater than I thought." Charles indicated. "A lot greater…"

Koemai shrugged. "So what? Let's just get down there and do our job."

"Are you sure you're up for this?"

"As you said before, you're not Diana." the Raven fumed. "So stop asking me that already."

"Okay." Charles snorted. "It's your funeral."

Without another word, the two machine dove off the side and down into the shining chasm. As they fell down, the lights and silver shone to and fro before them, almost like a kaleidoscope. They continued to fall for a full minute before the ground became visible. Activating their boosters, Professional and Bloodhand slowed their descent and eased their way down the rest of the way until they touched down. Despite the cushioned landing, Koemai was still forced to stifle a moan. He didn't need to hear Charles try to convince him to stay behind again. Not when they were this close to the end.

'_Come on. Time to get tough.'_

"The energy readout is dead ahead." Charles announced, directing Koemai's attention to a single pair of silvery door. Within though, Charles was quite close to feeling…excited. The last time he came, he didn't even make it halfway and now the end was just beyond those doors. Once they shut down the energy source, Silent Line will be opened and their mission will be complete. It wasn't easy though. It took much planning on his part and to efforts of those around him. And even still, it hadn't been without drawbacks; the major one being the loss of a clansman. But if his death was to mean anything, then they had a task to complete.

"Let's go."

The two machined strode toward the door, with Professional moving ahead to unlock the system. But to his surprise, the doors swiftly slid open on their approach to reveal…another pair of doors. Moving close to those had the same result and again a third pair of doors was behind it.

"Well, this is fun." Komai grumbled.

The two machines continued to walk, passing the next ten sets of doors, all which moved in similar fashion. Finally, they reached a different pair of door. This wasn't like the first group as it was actually locked. Professional moved up to the terminal on the side and Charles began to unlock it. The change in stride made them remember to be more cautious. There was no telling what they were to expect once they entered in. A generator, sure. But given the defenses of the place, there could have been something else. _More Big Whites…_ Koemai shuddered partly at the thought of facing those MTs again. They were twice as annoying as the Disorder units on Mars and have the firepower to boot. But if it were them, then he'd have to handle it. After all, he made it through a rival clan, energy blasts from the sky, several Big Whites, and a room full of weaponry, all the while bearing severe injuries. Whatever it was behind this door, he could handle it.

And as the door opened, he saw just how wrong he was…

* * *

"Talk about a free fall."

Havoc and Cloak had just finished their descent into the shining chasm and touched down. Before them were the silvery sets of doors that lead to the energy source they had been tracking. Considering its strength, it was just beyond them.

"Looks like this is it." Elijah half-whispered.

"I…"

Elijah blinked as he looked toward the speaker. Ellie…

"I never thought I'd see it this far." Since her last effort into Silent Line, Ellie has thought much about going back in. Like Charles, it motivated her to become a better Raven and allowed her to join with the clan in order to achieve the goal. But for her, it was a test of skill and personal ability, to see if she could make it all the way. And though she was without her core, she was still going on with the help of her clan. Of her friends…

"Thank you."

"Can't get sedimental yet, girl." Diana replied, despite the fact that felt a bit hypocritical at saying so. Since the time they descended down, all she could think about was Koemai, hoping that he was alive and well somewhere in this place. She knew he must have been hurting now. She felt it in his last transmission; the strain in his voice as he tried to hide the pain. She also knew that he was a tough guy and was probably over exaggerating things, but that was simply the way she felt. Still, they did have a mission to complete. The sooner that was done, the sooner they could leave. All of them…

"We have to finish out job first."

"Yeah…" Ellie replied softly.

With that, the two ACs moved on ahead, causing the doors to open automatically and reveal a second set of doors. Continuing, they were greeted by a second, third, four, and fifth pair of doors.

"What is this?" Elijah grumbled. "Someone's idea of a joke?" In truth, the younger Raven was feeling a little anxious, for two reasons. One, Ellie was sitting on his lap and in while controlling his AC, he also had to control his hormones. Two, he was in a place where no one had ever been able to venture. Silent Line was no man's land, something of a legend. But here he was, deep within its secrets, on the verge of seeing…the Promised Land.

_'Sounds like something Cain would say…'_

Continuing on, the two AC continued to shift through the opening doors until they reached a different door, gray and locked. Cloak moved up to the terminal to open it while Havoc stayed behind, with two pairs of eyes simply staring at the door. Soon, they would be able to complete their mission and go beyond Silent Line. It was an intense moment and they were just preparing themselves for what may be on the other side.

And the door opened…

* * *

It _watched_…

As the two doors opened in the shimmering sanctuary, it was already entering its battle mode. Sleek black metal glistened as it hovered just above the ground. Humaniod in basic form, with no visible weapons to see, yet it sported a large set of spine wings, much like a bat. A yellow visor glimmered as it scanned those that were now entering the sanctuary. Four ACs, yet detecting five lifesigns. Weaponry high grade, yet it wasn't anything it hadn't seen before. Armor was marginal due to the great effort it must have taken to make it this far.

It _waited_…

Since detecting their arrival from high above on the surface, it was active, watching their progress as they came deeper and deeper. Though the network system that lined the entire complex, it watched their battle tactics, noting their strengths and weaknesses and adjusted itself accordingly. The battle with the Big Whites was extremely helpful for info. It had taken much to defeat the guardians, showing that these weren't simple Ravens. They had to have great skill in order to survive and to make it this far.

And it saw them survive…

Now it was only a matter of time, that being when the door opened, revealing to them the main power generator; a generator that powered everything in this place and beyond, reaching up into the skies where the stealth satellite cannons fired upon any intruder that came close. But the cannon had been dodged, the gunnery had been passed, the MTs had been destroyed.

Which left on it to fulfill its program…

As the four machines entered in the generator chamber, the lights on it came alive and all systems were ready for battle. It would be here were they would meet their end, for none have ever gotten past this dark sentinel. And none would get past it, not as far as it was concerned.

And with a hiss of its boosters, IBIS _acted_…


	44. The Power of IBIS

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 43

-

They didn't even have time to rejoice; a few seconds of relief at seeing that they were all still alive and that they had all made it to the very core of the underground of Silent Line, the finishing line. Because as soon as the doors closed behind them, the dark machine before them came to life and charged at them.

Shhhhhrrreeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

"What the hell…!"

IBIS swooped from across and raised its arm. From it, a GIGANTIC energy sword was produced and swiped at the four ACs. Quick thinking and even quicker instincts allow them all to fly back and just out of the way, but they all ended up slamming themselves back onto the sealed doors.

"Guah!"

Koemai moaned the loudest, having felt like his entire side was ruptured. He forced himself to avoid looking down at his side and focused himself on the battle. IBIS was flying back for a brief minute and then with amazing speed, it came back at them again.

"Everyone!" Charles shouted. "Move now!"

Following this instruction, the four ACs now propelled off the wall and into the open area. IBIS halted its assault and pursued them. Diana had managed to wheel around and fire back from Cloak, but IBIS ignored her and flew past.

'_What?'_

Elijah looked in the rear view screen to see IBIS swooping straight at him. 'What the hell?' Gripping the controls, Elijah wheeled Havoc in a turnaround and fired. IBIS nimbly dodged the bullet shell and reached into its back, producing a plasma rifle. Locking on to Havoc, IBIS fired.

"Ghhhh!"

Elijah strained to dodge the fire, but with Ellie on his lap, his movements were slow and the energy beams shredded the outer armor of his AC. Havoc was forced to retreat and IBIS was hot on his heals, firing ever chance it got.

Which meant all the time…

Professional managed to wheel around with Cloak and Bloodhand. They didn't understand why the mysterious machine was so transfixed with Havoc, but it gave them a good chance to attack it from behind. As they began to get into formation, IBIS suddenly spun around in 180 degrees and spread its wings. Purple beams of energy flashed out from each spine, hitting them all and forcing them to disperse. As they moved to recover, IBIS was back on Havoc's tail.

"What the heck? How did it do that?"

Charles however, was more worried about why. This machine was far more than they thought. Now only did it possess the power, but there was a very high intelligence guiding it. IBIS clearly noticed the beginnings of their formation and countered it right on the spot. But that still didn't explain why it was going after Havoc. That was until a close attack causes both Ravens within to cry out.

'_It knows that they are both in there…It's trying to eliminate the weaker target first.'_

With two Ravens in one machine, there was no way that it would be fit enough to face IBIS, and the worse thing was that the machine…_knew_ that. It knows exactly how to fight them.

"Listen up. We have to hurry and stop this thing before it destroys Havoc. It's trying to take it out first in order to decrease it opponents."

"Let's go!"

Bloodhand roared off toward IBIS. Diana began to call out to him to wait for a plan, but that was until Professional too soared off after him. _'Charles? What are they doing? Have they lost their minds?'_

Meanwhile, Havoc was going through the ringer. The attacks from IBIS were beginning to take its toll as the young Raven sought to outmaneuver it. Ellie grabbed hold of the seat in order not the smash herself all over the place, but she knew what was wrong. It was just as she said before. She was slowing him down. But she had to admit, Elijah was showing no signs of letting up, using whatever he could to dodge the fire. But she couldn't let them both die like this. Her eyes focused in on the cockpit hatch. If she was quick enough, she could open it and jump out, giving him free movement with his core. But from such a height and in the middle of a battle, she would very well be committing suicide. But the alternative was that they both die, with Elijah trying to fight and protect her at the same time. Determination began to come over her features as she continued to look at the cockpit hatch.

'_Sorry about this…and thank you…'_

"YAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

The battle roar of Koemai echoed out as Bloodhand charged in firing. IBIS broke off its attack on Havoc and twirled on Bloodhand, firing its wing blasts again. But Bloodhand managed to evade enough of the blast to continue charging at it, firing maniacally with his machine gun.

"CHEW ON THIS, YOU SON OF A B$&)!"

Seeing the opportunity, Ellie quickly grabbed the hatch handle and the cockpit opened. Elijah blinked as Ellie jumped up from his lap and dove off. However, Elijah grabbed her arm just before she could fall fully.

"What are you doing!"

"I have to." Ellie replied. "It's the only way."

"You'll get killed."

Ellie tried to pry out of his grasp, but he held tight. "If I don't, we'll both die. Don't worry. I'll find somewhere safe to hide."

"But it's far too risky. I won't let you."

"You don't have a choice. He's coming back." She became silent for a moment and then pleaded softly. "Please…let go."

Elijah was in true panic, uncertain of what to do. Ellie saw this and with a low sigh, she swung to the side, smashing his arm on the side of the cockpit. Elijah winced in pain and as a result, his grip was released and Ellie fell down.

"Ellie! No!"

Energy blasts soon erupted from behind him and on instinct alone, Elijah turned his machine back into the battle, closing the cockpit hatch all the while as he now charged. He had nothing else except for the hope that she did survive and if she did, then he would hold IBIS off until she was safe. But IBIS suddenly shifted direction once again and turned in on a new target, which it previously had to fight off to get to Elijah.

Koemai…

* * *

'_I guess that wasn't such a bright idea…'_

After his berserker attack, Koemai drew back in soreness and pain. IBIS had repeated its laser attack n him and he was forced to back away again, however Professional and Cloak had moved in right after him. As Professional flew in the save, he could hear Charles earlier words to him.

"_Well, you can at least serve as a decent distraction."_

'_Stuckup…'_ Koemai grinned, despite himself. Once again, Koemai forced his pain-wracked body into motion, so that his AC would get mobile again. But that wasn't too difficult for him to accomplish, and it was all thanks to what he saw on the viewscreen.

_IBIS barreling at him!_

"Ah, s$t!"

In a hurried quickness, Koemai pushed his machine into high gear, as IBIS came flying. Koemai was unable to fight back and he was in full retreat and unable to turn due to the chasing monster of a machine behind him. Professional once again intervenes, coming up beside IBIS to attack, but in a flash, the machine whirled at him and fired, forcing him to dodge and negate his attack. With another hiss, IBIS rotated back to its previous prey and resumed firing. But Koemai had been given enough space due to Professional's charge. It wasn't much of one, but it was enough for one desperate move.

"Have to go for the gold!"

With all the strength he could muster, Koemai caused Bloodhand to skid sideways on the floor and wheel around toward IBIS. As he did, he armed the grenade launcher and settled down on the ground. But the time he finished spinning, he was locked on to the deadly machine. He knew the blast would hurt him too, for the shock would tear at his body. But this was the only chance he had and he was going to take it.

"EAT THIS!"

**PHHHOOOOOOSSSSSHHHHH!**

The flaming shell soared right at IBIS and Koemai smiled at the dead on target. However, he was in for a shock, for IBIS suddenly…ducked underneath it.

"No way!"

No machine was capable of that. _Such a move was…it just wasn't…_ Koemai was in total shock over this as IBIS came at him, laser blade extending. With Bloodhand settled on the ground, Koemai would never be able to move his machine in time to avoid it. Even if he could get mobile, it would not be enough. IBIS was far too close to miss.

_It was over for him…_

SHHHHHHHHKKKKKKKKKKKKK! 

At that sound, IBIS suddenly lifted up into the air, dodging the energy wave that came from the side and immediately turned on the shooter. _Cloak… Diana…_ The hovering AC lifted off the ground, switched to machine gun fire and let IBIS have it. The dark machine was too nimble for her to hit it fully, but she pressed, flying away swiftly as she let loose her rage. A small smile came over Koemai's face as he returned his machine to its upright position. But the relief was short lived as one of IBIS's blasts hit the lower part of the body, damaging the legs and slowing her down. At this development, IBIS pressed the attack, assaulting her with energy blast from seemingly all over.

"No!"

His body was wracked and ravaged with pain, but that didn't stop him from activating the OB and soaring right at IBIS. This wasn't going to happen…not again…not with her! The machine seemed to share his fury as it literally roared in at IBIS. As before, IBIS sharply twisted around and relayed the assault on the raging Bloodhand. Koemai wanted to ignore the attacks coming at him, but they were too much for him to handle outright and they would out tearing the grounds before him and causing his machine to crash hard onto the ground. Koemai literally gagged and blood gushed out of his wound, leaving out any doubt that he was in serious trouble.

"Guah…"

IBIS remained still for a moment, seemingly at a loss as to what to do. Cloak was badly damaged and could be finished off. But Bloodhand was down completely, leaving it to be the best to destroy immediately. The computer within ran the numbers and calculated the best course and IBIS immediately took it.

...By wheeling around and attacking Professional…

"Damn!"

Professional was hovering in the air a good distance from IBIS and Charles was hoping to blast off its head with a sniper shot, just as he hit the white MT above. But IBIS was too fast and it predicted the move. Wings spread, IBIS lashed out a salvo of energy beams that completely tore through Professional, destroying it hover option in the process. As Professional landed hard, IBIS began to fly. But its sensor detected something else that required its attention.

Havoc was coming at him from the side…

In a wisp, IBIS wheeled on the charging AC and fired. But in a sudden display, Havoc literally jumped off to the side just before the beams could hit and opened to fire. The bullets hit IBIS's back and managed to shoot off its right wing. Charles watched this in amazement. _'How could he have such a skill?'_ It would require insane manipulation of the boosters and the core itself to make such a move like that and this young Raven pulled it off. He could have dismissed it as a fluke, but he knew better.

_This kid was a natural…_

Havoc skid on the ground as IBIS remained still from the damage. It may have seemed slight, but knocking off one of the laser wing weapons was an advantage all the same. Elijah breathed heavily within; the tactic he used had taken a good deal out of him. IBIS turned to him slowly and then for the first time, it spoke.

-"Scanning target…"-

Elijah was at a bit of a loss, but made ready to move in and attack again. But suddenly, IBIS was on the move, coming at him at an even faster rate. _'What the hell…?'_ This question was soon cut off by energy rifle fire and the blast caught Havoc on the shoulder, blowing off the entire left arm.

"Ahhhhhh!"

Havoc dashed back and IBIS swooped in attack. The space between then closed quickly and more of IBIS's shots were beginning to connect. Inside Havoc, Elijah was working both to dodge the beams and to fight off his panic. _'How…It's gotten faster…'_ The dark machine closed in on Havoc and the energy saber soon flashed forth and out at him. Havoc quickly changed direction, strafing to the right, but the blade still managed to nick the core and Elijah gasped as he saw the glimmer of light within his core, close to his face no less.

_'Come on, come on, think of something…'_

IBIS suddenly leaped in the air, seeming to go for an aerial slash. But in a flash, it whirled around completely and opened fire on Professional once again. Because the machine was seated by it grenade launchers (the lack of the hover extensions prevented it from doing this while flying), the beams hit dead point, knocking the lead Raven's AC down.

"Naahhh!"

Once done, IBIS whirled back just as it was landing and pressed the attack on Havoc once again. The machine was in bad shape. With a missing arm, its armor being shredded and most of his teammates out of the count, all the while with a maniac machine still dogging him, it seemed that his chances of survival were bottoming out.

**KABBBBBOOOOOOOMMMMM!**

Suddenly, one of the sealed doors exploded and slammed down on the ground. IBIS halted its attack as a dark object suddenly soared out from the opening and into the room, coming at IBIS at full overboost speed. Elijah couldn't see it properly, for his viewscreen was slightly damaged, but he saw enough to know that it was a black AC. _'Reaper?'_ If that was Reaper, then that meant…

_'He didn't make it…after all…'_

Sorrow and anguish began to fill the young man in that moment, more so that when he was just being assaulted by IBIS. But that was until the machine came in for a close attack and only then did Elijah see it. The blue-white glow of the Moonlight blade…

_Salvation had come…_


	45. Hand of Salvation

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 44

-

_Back, some time ago..._

The two ACs stood face to face on the battlefield, heavily damaged in their solo battle. Each machine colored differently and fighting for things equally diverse. For one, death was the goal. The bringing of the final darkness to his opponent in order to move on. Plain and simply battle rules. Kill and move on. For the other, he fought for the obtaining of life. Not only his life, but for the life of one most precious to him. This was a primal fight; Light against dark. Death against life.

_And it was coming to its conclusion…_

Glaive's overboost propelled the white machine straight toward Reaper, who stood still and waited for its advance. Within, Cain knew what he had to do; what he was about to do. But he didn't know if it would work or not. It was a maneuver specifically designed for this situation. He knew that Reaper would wait for him to come in close and tear him apart with those laser scythes of his. It was something he was preparing for when the fight broiled down to this. Not if, when. It would take every skill that he had just to try this and if it worked, this fight would end. If not, his fuel would be completely exhausted and he would be at the mercy of his opponent, who would no doubt finish him without a thought.

As Glaive veered closer, the machine's blade arm folded up in front and the Moonlight blade hissed out. Reaper continued to remain motionless, no doubt timing his attack the same as he was. Cain kept his eye on the dark machine before him, waiting for the signal from Reaper for him to go. It had to be perfect. Otherwise, he was doomed. Glaive soared in close, its flaring engine seemingly giving it heavenly wings. An onlooker would call this a classic fight between angel and demon, and as such, there would be one victor. Just one…

And then, it happened...

Reaper's head lifted slightly and the entire machine suddenly bent low. Its right arm crossed the body and the violet energy emerged into form and curved in the air. From within, Bane could see the approach of his rival. Judging from the speed and the closeness, he would never be able to avoid this. _'Death is here for you.'_ Reaper suddenly shot forward, a perfect and shocking attack slash.

'_Goodbye, my brother of light.'_

But the surprise was on him, for Glaive suddenly veered off to the side, seeming to fly past him. The scythe flew out and hit, but it nicked the leg as Glaive not only flew to the side, but upward in the air as well. The OB cut off immediately and was accompanied by the hiss of the turn booster extensions, causing Glaive to spin radically. Bane turned and looked in horror as the twisting machine flew, with the blue-white saber slashing out in a full 270 degree arch…at him.

_**SSSSSSRRRRRRRRRRKKKKKKKKKKKK!**_

The blade sliced right into Reaper, tearing right into the back of the core and coming out in the upper front, taking with it the left arm and severing that completely. Glaive continued to fly through the air until it reached the ground where it tumbled around awkwardly. The landing was never prepared for, but that wasn't something for him to take into consideration. The attack itself was the focus and he pulled it off successfully.

Reaper was still for a long while before the sparks wildly sprung around it. Bane was still in awe of that attack. Cain had pushed his machine into a forceful direction change and used the momentum and centrifuge of his spin to create a single devastating strike, one that resulted in the complete decimation of his Reaper. Hell, the blade itself soared right over his head.

_A truly devoted attack…_

Glaive soon began to lift itself from the ground, much to the pain of the pilot within. The G-forces of his maneuver had taken its toll on him, leaving his body with the feeling that it had just been crushed. How much of that is true, he would have to discover later, but right now, he had to get up. Looking, he saw the still Reaper, sparks flailing wildly around it and yet it was still on its feet. Cain was surprised that the machine didn't explode instantly, but then soon realized that it was just a matter of time. His attack was lightning fast and it would require a moment before Reaper's generator separated completely and exploded.

-"Flawless, Cain. Truly flawless."-

Cain blinked. _'Bane?'_ He didn't think he was still alive after that attack. He must have hit the core at a higher point than he thought.

-"It would appear…that you have cheated death again."-

Cain was silent for only a moment before he answered back. "No. I only turned it into a fighting chance to live."

The sparks began to flicker more wildly across the black machine, yet the response was a calm one. -"Ah… So now it makes sense."-

Silence came once again, with Cain watching the machine slowly fall apart to self-destruction. He should have felt elated that he had defeated Bane, but in the process he had to kill him, an act he always tried to avoid doing when in combat. And right now, he was literally watching him die before his eyes.

"Did it have to come to this?"

-"Feeling regrets?"- came a dark chuckle. -"Don't. You did just what you had to do. No more. No less."- The head of Reaper slowly turned to him as the core finally began to slip apart. -"Embrace your life…while I meet my Maker."-

**KKKKKKAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!**

The explosion blasted the entire area, with Glaive being just out of range. Dust and ash blew everywhere, covering the white AC in a thick blanket of black cloud. When the dust settle, Glaive still remained, now soiled in the dust and black. Cain looked down at his machine and regarded this solemnly.

'_A fighting chance to live… But I'm not done yet, am I?'_

* * *

_Present…_

_SSHHHOOOOOOMMMMMMM!_

Glaive soared right into the main room and toward the demonic form of IBIS. Due to the fights of his clan, Glaive had been able to make it down into the bunker with ease (aside from the gunnery room, which went off on him) and down to this point. He managed to overhear the plight of Havoc over the comm and wasted no time in charging in, blasting the door in so that he didn't have to slow down. The sight of his fallen team didn't escape him as he attacked IBIS with a slashing cut.

But IBIS met his clash with a strike of its own, almost pushing Glaive to the ground, but settling for pushing him back. Cain grunted as he readied his machine; his earlier battle had hurt him worse than he believed. At best, he had a couple of broken ribs and he was well aware of the outer bruises. There might be the possibility of internal injuries. But he couldn't afford to think like that now.

Not when his team needed him…

Boosters flaring, Glaive charged against, with another saber strike. IBIS nimbly dodged the slash and quickly came back with one of its own. Cain used the turn boosters to dodge, but the lengthy blade still managed to cut near the leg area. Again, Cain grunted, knowing that even though the legs were repaired, they were still sensitive to such attacks. IBIS soared of to the side and raised its laser rifle once more and fired mercilessly. Glaive skittered around the energy fire in retreat and the black machine pursued, aiming for the lower portion of the machine. Cain began to realize that was the target and discovered a startling truth.

_'It knows…It knows about the damage…'_

A brief moment of hesitation passed over Glaive, one that IBIS was sure to follow up on and a shot to the legs. Glaive nearly stumbled to the ground, but Glaive suddenly whirled around, courtesy of the turn booster extension, and fired a energy blast right at the black machine. IBIS swiftly dodged, but the blast had managed to take off the second wing. IBIS flew back further and then stopped.

"Target scan in progress… Adapting systems…"

Cain looked in puzzlement as IBIS simply stood there. Not wanting to take any chances, Cain raised his arm energy cannon and fired. But just as he let out the shot, IBIS spoke again.

"Scan complete."

IBIS then flew out of the laser beams path, just a mere second before impact. Cain's eyes widened. _'No way! That's way too fast, even for a machine!'_ True to his thoughts, IBIS came at him, flying at a vastly increased speed, almost to the point where afterimages could be seen trailing behind it. Pure instinct was all that caused Cain to move to the side before the energy blade slashed him through. But the suddenness of his own movement caused his body to wrack with pain.

"Guhh!"

He had just blinked and opted to let the pain pass through him when IBIS was right on him again. Correction, RIGHT IN HIS FACE! The black machine had come in after its first attack and had come for another one. Its long blade soared down at him, meeting Glaive's now unleashed sword and resulted in a heavy clash. Glaive reeled back from the force and Cain almost cried aloud for the stress.

And IBIS was back in his face again!

'_This is insane!'_

Once more, Cain managed to bring his blade up in defense, but his blade hadn't even reached full length before IBIS's hit him, knocking him right to the ground. Glaive tumbled over the ground and Cain with it, soon smashing in the wall. Cain gritted his teeth as he sought to recover. He was now on the floor, and he was pretty sure that a good portion of Glaive's systems was a wreck. And to top it off, IBIS was standing over him, with its laser rifle pointing right at the core.

_Right at him…_

Cain glared up at IBIS, wanting to rise up and try to do something. But he knew the situation he was in. He was right on the floor, with the enemy standing over him. In the wild, once an animal was down in a fight, it stayed down, because it would be finished off by other soon after. And was basically the situation he was in right now.

_Checkmate…_

IBIS posed ready to fire when suddenly, the machine soared back and away, much to Cain's surprise. But his shock was answered when he saw a grenade shell whiz past where IBIS once stood. Looking over in the direction of the weapon, his eyebrows lifted brightly. The smoking launcher of Bloodhand folded away as the machine lifted to its feet.

"That's right. I'm back."

IBIS seemed to regard the now rising machine and began to fly in. But a line of gunfire cut off its advance and upon turning, it saw another opposer that had fallen earlier. Havoc…

"Don't tell me…you forgot about me too."

Cain soon managed to lift his machine off the ground, sparks coursing around it, but it was still able to fight. Cain himself was in sore straits, but upon seeing his comrade up, he knew he had to join them. IBIS seemed impassive as the three machines assembled together.

_Vengeance…_

_Justice…_

_Salvation…_

_**The Hands of God…**_


	46. Final Judgment

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 45

-

Bloodhand, Havoc and Glaive all stood around the black machine, IBIS, who had up until now, beating them all. The three Ravens were strained, wounded, and tired, but they remained standing, ready to fight together as they have done in the past.

_The Hands of God…_

"What's with the black?" Koemai muttered, noticing Glaive's new color scheme, as opposed to his usual white and blue. When Glaive had flew in earlier, everyone though that he was one of the Death Dealers, more likely Reaper himself. But the glow of the Moonlight showed them all differently.

"I have yet to survive death." Cain replied. After his fight with Reaper, he had the machine repainted while under repairs, making it as dark as before when the dust of Reaper's explosion blackened his machine.

"The black is to represent that."

Elijah shook his head and chuckled (albeit painfully). "Weird as always."

The conversation was silenced as IBIS went on the move again, shadowing toward the closet prey, which was Bloodhand. The AC instantly took to flight, firing back as he did. IBIS had no trouble dodging the bullet fire though as it moved in close for a laser blade slash. But before IBIS could lash out, it halted, wheeled around and fired upon Glaive, who had been approaching it from behind. Cain had to break away from his intended attack, but still managed to let out a grenade shell on IBIS. But the machine seemed to warp out of the way and the blast narrowly flew over the retreating Bloodhand's head.

"Whoa! Watch it, Cain!"

But Cain had other problems as IBIS was now pursuing him, coming up close and slashing at him. Due to the increased speed, it seemed as though it was attacking with FOUR blades. Cain was beginning to break down when IBIS disengaged and flew away, charging to Havoc before he could even get a decent lock. But Elijah didn't retreat.

"I won't be reduced to a slow death. RAH!"

Havoc continued to charge at IBIS as the black machine fired at him. The shot flailed all around Havoc, but the machine continued to come in a mad fury. At least until one of the blast hit the shoulder, sending the entire right arm flying off in pieces and throwing Havoc to the ground.

'_Maybe…that wasn't such a good idea…'_

IBIS moved in for the kill, energy blade ignited and it reeled back to strike. Or it seemed as it did, for instant, the machine whirled around completely, snagging the incoming blade of Glaive and forcing it aside. But as Glaive was knocked away, from behind, Bloodhand soared in, firing its machine gun upon the black machine. IBIS dashed back and away, avoiding all the bullets effortlessly.

"I don't know about this, guys." Elijah groaned as he lifted Havoc upright. "It's like he has eyes on the back of his head or something."

"Not only that, but he knows how to hit us too." Koemiai frowned as he added. "And hard. We could use a plan right now."

Cain watched IBIS beginning to skitter around and then replied. "…Final Judgment…"

"Final Jud…? Are you crazy!" Elijah shouted. "We haven't even perfected that when we first tried. And we only did it once, which didn't work."

"But you remember it, right?"

"Well, yes…"

"Then that's what we have to do."

"I have to agree with the kid on this one." Koemai replied. "That is an insane idea, even for me."

Final Judgment was a combination attack tactic for the Hands of God team. Cain had originally thought of it as a way to defeat larger, more heavily armored opponents, but later made it useable for any single opponent, like IBIS. However, the tactic requires both incredible focus and timing, not to mention the three would have to be positioned properly for it to even start. During the test run in VR, the three failed badly in that both Glaive and Havoc were destroyed for improper timing.

"Don't worry about it." Cain answered, looking over at Bloodhand for a minute. "I studied it over and we did nothing wrong. The only problem was the circumstances. We were only testing it out before." Looking back at IBIS, his voice hardened. "Now we have to _make_ it work."

Koemai looked at the now approaching IBIS as well, realizing that they really didn't have any choice but to try this plan, this insanely twisted plan that could leave them completely defeated and destroyed.

"If this doesn't work…"

Cain cut him off. "I know. That's why it has to work."

Koemai shook his head. "Really, you have to stop speaking in riddles one day. But I got you." With a pained wince, he tightened his grip on the controls. "Ready to do this, kid?"

"I'm ready if you are, slacker." Elijah spat back.

"Slacker? Ha, that's a good one." Dismissing the pain and incoming grogginess, he focused on the task. "Let's do this."

The three soared off, moving into the positions that were needed for them. Bloodhand's was the easiest. He was to be the center attacker on this, since his grenade launcher would be key. However, this meant that he would be wide open for an attack by IBIS.

_'Oh well. Who wants to live forever…?'_

Bloodhand ceased in its dash and began to settle down, unlocking its grenade launcher. But as soon as he sighted IBIS, the black machine disappeared from his screen, only to reappear…right in front of him!

"What the hell!"

The rifle pointed at the core, IBIS was ready to shoot when it suddenly flew away again, just as a laser cannon soared in from the sidelines. Koemai looked over in wonder and then smiled at his rescuer.

"Di…"

Cloak was badly damaged, due to IBIS's earlier laser bombardment. Inside, Diana was covered with several burns and scars, but still in the fight. It had taken her some time to adjust her FCS to function properly, but she had managed to pull it off. And in good timing too, as Koemai was just seconds away from being blasted. But there was a bad side to this.

She took his place on the chopping block…

_Phzzz! Phzzzz!_

IBIS swooped in to attack her with a literal storm of energy fire. Diana quickly made a run for it, ejecting her laser cannon in order to fly away again. But like before, IBIS quickly caught up with her and continued to pelt her with energy.

"Diana!"

Koemai began to reel Bloodhand around and take aim. But then he paused. If he took the shot now, then he would waste the entire attack sequence. And he knew that IBIS would only dodge them and come back after him. But he couldn't just let Diana get slaughtered before his eyes. Locking on to the dark machine, he took aim and pulled the…

"Don't waste it."

Koemai blinked out and saw an object flying right past him. It was neither black, nor red, so it wasn't Glaive or Havoc. This machine was tan in color.

_Professional…Charles…_

The said machine flew in behind IBIS, weapon trained on IBIS, but not firing. Charles was well aware that firing would be a waste as IBIS could detect and avoid all incoming fire. But by locking on, he was able to test the extent of those programmed reflexes. True enough, as soon as he locked on, IBIS dashed away, leaving Cloak alone and soaring after Professional. Charles smiled. _'It reacts to lock-ons.'_ That meant that it could be manipulated. Unfortunately, its speed made that a difficult task as IBIS swirled around toward him and Charles was in retreat now. He took a glance back at the settled Bloodhand.

'_I guess…I'll be the distraction this time.'_

Meanwhile, Glaive and Havoc had moved over to their positions of attack. At that moment, Professional was doing his best to avoid IBIS and getting pummeled. But the lead Raven knew what the team was planning and was keeping IBIS centered. Elijah leaned forward, ready to do probably the craziest stunt he had ever done.

"Cain, are you sure you want to try this?"

"No."

Elijah blinked. "Huh?"

"Elijah, there is a saying." the elder Raven explained. "Do, or do not. There is no try."

"…Oh." At this point, he was well aware of his friend's unusual use of speech, right up to where he actually understood it (mostly). With an affirmative nod, Elijah gunned the controls.

"Well, let's do it!"

The boosters of the two machines roared as they swooped in from behind IBIS. Professional, seeing the incoming duo, flew out of the way, almost burning out all of his fuel in the process as IBIS turned to them as well. Glaive locked on with its energy cannon, but Cain didn't fire. Like Charles, he had noticed IBIS's reaction to lock-ons and was using it to his advantage. Besides, he couldn't risk firing, as he would need all the fuel he has to perform the maneuver.

IBIS's sensors caught the lock-on and it swiftly dashed aside in avoidance of fire that never came. Rather, Havoc and Glaive swirled around the still settled Bloodhand and they charged at him single-file, with Glaive in the lead. IBIS fired upon the rushing pair and Glaive flew off to the side slightly, with Havoc dodging as well. Yet the two continued on their path toward the machine. In a change of tactics, IBIS began to rush forward, igniting it energy saber for attack. Havoc saw the distance between them and the target and knew what was to happen now.

'_This is it. Havoc, don't fail me now.'_

Glaive lifted his energy cannon again as IBIS charged and the black machine suddenly swooped off to the side and in the air, disarming the saber and lifting up its laser rifle. But Glaive didn't fire and suddenly activated its OB and veered off to the right; opposite of where IBIS was going. But from behind Glaive, Havoc now swooped up…at an even faster speed than IBIS!

Had there been a pilot, it would have been surprised by this outcome. By staying behind Glaive, Havoc was able to reduce the drag of air until Glaive move away. This allowed for a temporary, but high burst of speed from the AC. IBIS quickly lifted its rifle to fire, only to miss Havoc altogether…

And be blown back by a grenade launcher…

Since their combined charge, Bloodhand had maintained a lock on IBIS, which caused the machine to move in the first place, thinking it was from Glaive and then Havoc. Also, by seeing where it moved, Koemai would had little trouble in tracking it as it flew and was distracted by the flying Havoc which is where he fired. The distance was close, but the hit was clean. IBIS was knocked down from the sky and landed hard on its feet.

Where a Moolight blade slashed across the core…

When Glaive veered off to the side, he quickly swooped back, using his OB to charge back in time to catch the falling IBIS. Its energy blade ripped right across and sent shrapnel flying. IBIS staggered back, almost falling to the ground. At that moment, Havoc, the final Raven in the attack, locked on with his machine gun and aimed straight at the damaged area.

"Hasta las vista, baby!"

Havoc unleashed all the remaining ammo it had, causing IBIS to stagger back more and more until finally, it crumbled to the floor. Sparks and smoke flew up from the ravaged machine as the computer within became scrambled. The attack was perfect; the three Ravens hit it heavily in sequence before it could retaliate and adapt its systems, resulting in extreme damage.

"We did it?" Elijah said in disbelief. Seeing the wreckage of IBIS on the ground, he grinned broadly, with only one word coming out of his mouth.

"YAHOOOO!"

Bloodhand rose from its position and Glaive turned to look as well. Indeed, IBIS had fallen; Final Judgment has been passed.

And then…

"Wait… What the hell?"

In a shocking move, the black machine rose up from the ground before them. Havoc backed away as it reached full height and fired, only to remember that his machine gun was void of bullets. IBIS looked over at him, smoke still billowing form out from the damages and let out one last line.

-"Raven…The rest is up to you…"-

_'What?'_

But his unspoken question was not answered, for IBIS suddenly knelt down and exploded altogether. But as it did, the entire chamber began lighting up with wisps of explosion that began to increase in force. The others looked around as parts of the chamber began falling in, bring flames and debris of the team.

"We've got to get out of here, now!" Charles warned.

The entire chamber was falling apart before their eyes as they moved over to the entry points and entered one. Cloak and Professional moved first, and soon Havoc and Bloodhand joined in. However, something was soon amiss to Elijah and upon turning around, he soon saw what

_Glaive was not moving…_

"Cain, what are you doing? Let's go."

"My fuel has been depleted." he answered back as his machine stood amid the rain of fire and metal. "Go on ahead."

"Are you kidding me?" Elijah exclaimed. Depleted fuel was no excuse for standing around waiting for death to fall on him. "The place is about to blow. We can't just leave you here."

"Yes you can. Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"No. Not this time." He didn't want to deal with this. He had already lost one of his friends and the fate of the other one is unknown. But he couldn't let Cain sit around begging for death. He began to move his machine back, but Bloodhand stopped him.

"What are you doing? He'll die here."

Koemai shook his head within. "We'll die if don't go. Don't worry about him."

"He's right." Cain spoke. By this time, the entire chamber had become a sea of fire, with Glaive standing in the middle of it. The black paint seemed to peel off, revealing patches of the white armor underneath. Glaive turned away from his retreating comrade and said finally.

"Paradise…is still waiting for me. "

As Glaive disappeared in the fire, Elijah sat in disbelief, not understanding anything at all at this point. Only when the loud clang of debris hit his ears did he then come out of his stupor. Bloodhand had moved aside and began moving down the pathway.

"Come on kid. We can't waste time here."


	47. Conquest

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

-

Chap. 46

-

The entire place was a literal inferno as the four ACs sought escape from the bunker. Taking the route Bloodhand and Professional used, the remaining members of Nightwatch soared out of grate way and into the gunnery room. _'Please don't fire'_ Diana thought as they flew in, remembering what happened the last time they were in there. Gladly, the gun turrets didn't fire on them and they were able to continue in their escape. What used to be glowing hallways and shimmering paths had turned to crimson light and frequent explosions. They soon reached the elevator and Professional moved toward the button.

'_This had better work.'_

Another miracle; the elevator door soon slid open and the clan wasted no time in entering in. The door soon closed and the elevator began its ascent. They could hear the explosions rumbling below them and by the time they reached the surface, they were just distant sounds. Still, not taking any chance, the four moved away from the bunker, while smoke floated up into the sky. They turned around and finally relaxed. They had made it.

But not all of them…

The image of Ellie was still in Elijah's mind, remembering how she jumped out of his core, against his wishes, in order not to slow him down. Though she was right, still…there had to have been another way. Now she was gone as well.

"Ellie…"

"Yes?"

Elijah blinked in surprise and looked over at the group. There, on the core exit of Professional, stood Ellie. Her hair, slightly disheveled from the battle, fluttered in the light wind and her jumpsuit showed signs of wear and tear.

"You… But how…?"

Ellie shrugged. "Well someone had to get this thing running again." She tapped on the hull of Professional, earning a light grunt from Charles. Continuing her explanation… "After I ejected, I saw Professional get hit. I figured I might as well do something and helped repair it." She then looked back over at Havoc and smiled. "I appreciate your concern, though. Really."

Elijah felt a great swell of relief at this, knowing that at least they weren't as far lost as he initially thought. But Cain was still down there and he didn't know how of if he managed to survive. As Professional turned around to send a message back to their client, Havoc took a step toward the bunker, watching the now-thick smoke continue to billow out into the air.

"Don't worry, kid." Koemai said as he saw the direction Havoc was looking in. "He's survived worse. I honestly…don't know…guhhh…"

Elijah turned his head at the sound and Cloak quickly moved up to Bloodhand. The hatch opening, Diana sprang out of her damaged AC and quickly onto Bloodhand. Hitting the emergency hatch, Bloodhand opened up and Diana was greeting with a pained Koemai, his hand tightly clutching his wound in a weak effort to keep the blood in.

"Koemai!" She rushed in and held onto his head. "Stay with me."

"Don't worry, babe." Koemai moaned lightly. "I said it before. I'm not dying yet. Not after I…got through all of that."

Diana let out a soft smile as she leaned forward and kissed him with fervor. Despite his condition, Koemai wasted no time in returning the affection, pushing his head forward to intensify the kiss.

"Now I know I'm not dying after that." He smiled as they parted. But then he jerked forward, still in pain. "Guah! But I think you'll have to patch me up."

"Naturally."

As she went about to work on his wound, Charles was contacting the client, informing them that the mission was a success. Months of work and planning had all come to fruition. But with it, a cost was paid, that being of a Raven's life. Even though being a Raven itself was dangerous, that didn't take away the fact that it was on this mission that Baron died. _His mission…_ Charles narrowed his brow in afterthought. No. It was not a success. But the objective was achieved.

'_Guess I'll have to settle for that.'_

Meanwhile, Elijah was left to himself on the hill edge. Thoughts of the entire episode began to fill his mind. His battle with the Death Dealers, the journey into the Line, battling the white MTs, forging his way into the bunker, confronting IBIS, Cain's return, the Final Judgment tactic, all of this swarmed his thoughts and it all ended the same way. With IBIS's final statement…

_"Raven…The rest is up to you…" _

'_What did it mean by that?'_ He wasn't sure if IBIS was speaking directly to him or if it was simply a pre-programmed response. _'But to what? For what? What did it mean?'_ Elijah sighed to himself, wincing from the injuries he suffered. It seemed like in the end, he hadn't grown up at all. That he was still young and far beyond understanding what it really means to be a Raven.

"_You are a true Raven now, Elijah."_

_Cain's words…_ Elijah lifted his eyes up to the sky and for the first time, he saw the sun gleaming through the black clouds. He was young yes, and there was still a lot to learn. But he would find out the answers for himself, and in doing so, learn what it means to be a real Raven. He would be able to now.

After all, he had good friends…and a good teacher…

It had taken the planes a good fifteen minutes to arrive there. Apparently, they had been in wait on the edge of the Line since Nightwatch was first flown in. A good number of people thought it was a waste of time; that the clan would simply disappear into the Line again and never be heard from again. So when they received confirmation that they were able to enter, needless to say, they were stunned. Upon landing, the crews on board approached the team and got to work once again, repairing the damaged cores and offering medical assistance to those injured (meaning just about everyone).

"Feeling better?"

Koemai let out a low moan as he revived (he blacked out a few minutes before they arrived). Lifting his arm, he found new bandage wrappings around his entire abdomen. The pain was still there, but it was reduced to a mild throbbing and soreness.

"I need a drink."

Diana let out a light smile and kissed him gently on the lips. "It'll have to wait a bit longer. We have a new mission."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry." she replied, sending her finger through his hair. "We've been asked to be the first to survey the city ruins. Since they plan to occupy it soon, they'll need a good scouting report."

"Scouts?" Koemai lifted his head up and sighed. "I never thought I'd say this, but that sounds wonderful right now." Lowering his head… "What about the others?"

"Everybody's in, of course. Ellie will be joining us in a MT that was brought along, but she doesn't mind."

"Great. Now all we need is the picnic basket and blankets." He became quiet for a moment nad Diana could just sense what he was about to ask next.

"How about Cain?"

The woman lowered her head and quietly replied. "…No sign of him."

"Hm. Figures."

"Do you really believe he's still alive?" She didn't want to ask that, but she saw what they left him in. The place was falling apart at the seams. Not only that, but it was several feet below ground. It would be a miracle if he had survived it, much less manages to come out of it.

"Yeah." He looked past her and continued thoughtfully. "He went through hell and back to find his love. He wouldn't give out now that he's close to having her back."

Diana smiled, knowing that it was a rare experience to see Koemai talk in such a manner. Well, maybe not that rare, at least to her. "Well, aren't you the sweetie."

"Just don't tell everybody else." he grunted. "I have an image to keep after all."

With a laugh, Diana quietly kissed her boyfriend once again and again he returned it in kind. She pulled back, but not too far as she just wanted to answer him before returning to his lips again.

"Your secret is safe with me, my love."

A couple of minutes later, everyone was back in their prospective machines and moving out to their next mission, which will be far easier than what they've just gone through. The ACs and MT all moved on to their respective transports, ready to complete their trip across the Line and into the city that lay beyond. Once they were all set, the engines flared and the planes took off into the skies once again, no longer having to fear the mysterious energy cannon that would blast them all down. Silent Line was broken, all due to the strength and perseverance of a single Raven clan, now the sole clan of the elite; the only one that survived.

_Nightwatch…_

As the planes soared toward the city, Elijah looked out from his cockpit and the plane's window to get a glimpse. But a glare of the sun forced him to turn away for a bit. It was in that moment that he saw it. A white image flying across the skies... Because of the distance and the sun's light, he couldn't see it clearly at first. It was like…a bird. Was it a dove? Elijah narrowed his eyes, forcing his vision to look through the light, where he let out a small smile. He knew exactly what it was now. No, it wasn't a dove. On the contrary…

_It was a Raven…_

* * *

AN: This is_ not_ the last chapter…


	48. Journal

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

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Epilogue

-

_Journal Entry – September 13 3XXX_

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I wrote in this thing again. But then again, a lot has been going on since. And honestly, I didn't think I'd be here to write in this again. Shows what I know. Anyway, let's give the rundown. Since I'm writing, it's obvious that we made it through Silent Line. Well…most of us did. Our fight with the Death Dealers beforehand had cost us White Wolf and Baron was killed. I know it sounds a bit heartless to say it that way, but it has been awhile and I've had time to get over it. Not completely though; nobody ever get over loosing a friend completely. On the plus side, he managed to take down the Death Dealer, Anubis, with him before he fell. Not a bad way to go out.

After that, we continued into the Line, with Cain staying behind for some personal business. Go figure. After we got in, it was hectic from the get-go. I would get into the details, but I've been sworn to secrecy by our client. Sufficient to say, we had one hell of a fight. Cain even managed to show up and we won.

_The three of us…The Hands of God…_

After that, things began to blow up (go figure) and we had to run. But Cain remained behind for God knows what reason. He really is a weird person. It's like the more I think I know about him, the less I actually understand him. We escaped and managed to open the way to Silent Line.

**Clan Nightwatch rulz, baby!**

From then on, things have been going on great. The credits we got from the mission made us filthy, stinking rich. Not to mention being the only guys to actually go into Silent Line and live to tell the tale making us famous among the other Ravens around. Baron's share went to making his grave. With it, Koemai and I made a more permanent gravesite, freezing up White Wolf in place so that no one would think about stealing it or such nonsense.

_Dead or alive, we look after our own…_

Speaking of which, Koemai and Diana finally decided to move in together. I've even heard a rumor that they were to be getting married. Of course, it's probably true, given the way Koemai was acting in the bar lately. All spaced out and such. It was kind of pathetic really.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So, how 'bout it? Ready to go for a round of the drink of death?"

Elijah and Koemai were once again at the local bar drinking away. Or, Elijah was; Koemai seemed to be in a slight daze that was limiting him to a single drink. For Koemai, that was really odd behavior.

"Nah, not tonight." he answered. "I'm going to be heading home early."

Elijah downed a glass and chuckled. "Oh man, does she have you on a leash."

"What was that?"

"You heard me. You're waiting for Diana to come back from her mission so you two can get all nice and cuddly."

Koemai's face began to turn red and he frowned. "I don't want to hear it, kid."

"See, look at you." Elijah egged on. He was a little buzzed now, but he saw this as payback for all the times Koemai had teased him. "You couldn't even say that right. Face it, you are so whupped!"

Getting pissed off; Koemai looked dead in Elijah's eyes and simply said. "When's the last time you had a girl?"

At this, Elijah shut up immediately and Koemai chuckled evilly.

"That's right, now sit there, shut up and drink."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_So what if that was true. That was still a pretty low blow…_

Ellie and Charles are other stories altogether. Ellie used her reward to build a new AC, Ghost's Shadow. Once she was done, she went out, saying something about having some other business to deal with and she wouldn't return for quite a while. No worries here, though. We all know she could take care of herself. Hell, if she could hang on to a AC while it was flying to escape a exploding structure, fixing it all the while, then it's a safe bet she could survive anything.

Charles left a few months afterward, saying that there were some things he had to take care of. He seemed quieter nowadays, probably because of completing his quest into the Line. He's probably out there searching for…something. A new mission…a new purpose perhaps… I get the feeling when he returns; there will be real action on his tail. But truthfully, I think he wanted to find Ellie. He never said anything, and neither did she, but I think there was something going on between them. But what do I know; I don't have a girlfriend.

_Something I definitely needed to change…_

As for Cain, I haven't seen him since Silent Line. I told the others what I had seen, but they were a bit skeptical, except for Koemai. His funds were nowhere to be seen, but that could simply be because he didn't take it. He's the type to actually refuse money. Weird! His last words…Paradise… We knew that if he had survived, he went back to his wife. I never thought I could see someone love someone else so much that he would go through all kinds of odds just to be with her again. I hardly expected to see it from Cain, the way he acted when we first started.

Anyway, it wasn't until just yesterdaythat our question was answered, that being, did Cain really survive?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"This was a great idea!"

Silent Line… Crest had sent in a massive unit of forces to enter into a section of the city and gain materials from an old research facility stationed there. Bloodhand and Havoc were called in by Mirage to quell the invaders and they managed to succeed, even taking out a team of ACs that had been sent in by Crest. They took significant damage, but all in all, they were doing pretty good.

And then the reinforcements came in…

'_Is this the end?'_ Havoc and Bloodhand found themselves cornered in a closed off section of the city. Advanced MTs were coming in by the droves and helicopters were preventing them from taking flight. But they couldn't just lay down and die. No…NO…NOOO…!

"Oh hell no!"

Elijah continued to par forth more machine gun fire along with Bloodhand. The piles of fallen MTs were clearly evident, but they underestimated how much Crest wanted control of the facility as more MTs and helicopters came in. With their limited AP and weaponry, this would seem to be their last mission.

And then…

**POOOOOSSSHHHH!**

Three MTs fell under the destruction blast of a grenade. Elijah looked over at Bloodhand to check and saw that Bloodhand's grenade launcher was still folded up. Moving out of the area they were trapped in, they soon saw their savior.

"What the…?"

A high speeding machine was weaving through the buildings and the oncoming forces. It reminded Elijah of IBIS, but he quickly saw that it was quite different. The core of it was clearly an AC, but it seemed to be armed with some advanced weaponry that Elijah had never seen before. The back was lined up with spines, with the booster fire giving it the appearance of wings. Also, the right arm had what appeared to be a grenade launcher, but it was in the shape of some kind of weird gauntlet. And last, but not least, on the back, there was hooked a long sword weapon, which they figured would be in use soon. Or maybe not, because the super AC was literally tearing through the enemy forces like a hot knife through butter. The machine paused for a moment and then turned to the side. Upon turning doing so, Elijah soon recognized the machine as and AC and more importantly, a familiar AC.

_Salvation…_

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! That's Glaive?"

Koemai was slower to answer as he had a big grin on his face. He knew exactly what this meant. At that moment, their radar picked up a beacon signal, indicating to a point that was close by.

"What's this?" Elijah questioned.

Koemai did not stop grinning and began to move Bloodhand to the designated area. "I think I know what that means. Come on."

Confused, Elijah followed and the two Ravens moved to the area. It was a clear out space, just outside of the city. Awaiting there where two massive AC trailers, right where the beacon indicated. Bloodhand moved up to the first trailer and Koemai jacked in to open it, but a small screen came up on his monitor.

_-Input passcode-_

Koemai sighed to himself. 'Let me see. If I know him…' He then typed in one word and hit enter.

_Vengeance-_

_-Passcode accepted-_

A click was heard from the trailer, indicating that it had been opened. Koemai looked over at Havoc, laughing lightly to himself as he did.

"Hehehe… Your turn."

"…Okay." Elijah was still mystified by all of this, but he hooked up to the locking terminal and the same thing came up. Following Koemai's example, he typed in his own designation.

_Justice-_

_-Passcode accepted-_

A second click and both trailers opened altogether, literally transforming into a makeshift hanger. Hooked onto it were several mechanical parts that looked quite like the same things that they had seen Glaive flying off with.

"Can you now tell me what's going on?" Elijah repeated with some frustration.

Bloodhand began to move toward the trailer hanger. "Has Cain ever told you about the Seraphim parts he had made some time ago?"

"No."

"No surprise there. Some time ago, he got the idea off building parts of out the design idea of Nine-Ball in his final stage. The result was these bad boys that are in front of you."

Elijah looked back at the parts. On his trailer, there was a similar device as Koemai's. Only the weapons were different. On both sides, there was some sort of weird machine gun, in which seemed odd in some of its placement. Also, the massive part seemed almost the size to his core. Surely, this would create some weight problems.

"They seem a bit…big though."

"That's okay. You'll have to jettison you back equipment though."

To demonstrate, Koemai flicked his switches, jettisoning all his weapons, save for the left arm saber. Elijah too followed suit, disengaging all his weaponry entirely.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Trust me." Koemai replied, wheeling his machine around and entering the hanger backward. "You'll love it."

5 minutes later…

"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Bloodhand and Havoc soared back into the battle from which they had come from, equipped with the Seraphim parts. Bloodhand was armed with the same right arm weapon, a quad-energy machine gun capable of firing four energy bullets at once while being powered by its own generator. On the shoulders were the vulcan cannon, to take out any smaller inconsistencies. Last, but not least, was the ZOLTAR-BSTL back mounted weapon system. In the shape of buzz-saw halves, this system allowed the AC to hover automatically and fly at heightened speeds. It also has a duel laser cannon attached, containing the same amount of power as linear energy cannon.

For Havoc, the same back unit was in place, only it was in the shape of two stretched out half circles, like beetle wings. The shoulder vulcans were in place and in both arms where the two machine guns, large enough to reach down to the feet of the machine. Not that it mattered, since they were both off the ground. Returning to the site of the invading force, they saw the destruction left behind by Glaive and then…nothing. No sign of the AC they had seen. But the reinforcements they had been battling before were still coming in through the edge of the city. Koemai's grin became feral as he saw, not enemies, but target practice.

"I'll lead off and show you how it's done."

The buzz saw shaped boosters ignited in a red blaze and Bloodhand Seraphim soared toward the enemy units. Lifting his machine gun, Bloodhand opened fire; the energy bullets raining down pure destruction and tearing through MT and tank alike. Elijah watched in amazement as Bloodhand Seraphim tore through the enemy forces with no signs of let up or slowing down. Whatever he missed was caught in the shock of his flight and he rarely missed. Helicopters soon came in from behind Bloodhand Seraphim, thinking that they were safe in the skies. But they had neglected to see the second Raven in wait.

"Alright guys. Round two."

Activating his overboost, Havoc Seraphim flew upward in a green flare of energy. The helicopter pilots where in total shock about this, but they weren't able to do anything else, for Havoc raised its machine guns and let them fire. The shocking thing was that the gun barrel had partially separated into three, thereby let loose fire in six directions. The helicopters had no escape to them and when Havoc Seraphim landed on the ground, the skies were clear of them. But unknown to him, a single MT had escaped the destruction and was aiming a bazooka onto Havoc's back. Elijah picked it up and was ready to turn, but a single flash on light cut across the MT and it exploded a few seconds later. Havoc looked upward at the buildings to see Glaive Seraphim holding the long saber that was on its back before, now glowing in same blue-white glow as a Moonlight blade.

"Where the heck have you been?"

"Home…"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Home…_ That was all that he said and then he flew off into the skies. I didn't need to wonder what he meant by that though. She's alive. Aria…his wife. Whatever operation she went though, it must have worked; otherwise I doubt he would have returned at all. If its one thing I knew for certain about Cain, it was that woman had his heart.

I will have to meet her one day…

Actually…now that I think about it, he could have returned regardless. It might have been a longer period of time, but he would have come back. I know he would have. It was something I have learned for myself since I first began training under Cain. The fights, the experiences, the losses, all of which helped me learn one thing about what it meant to be a Raven.

We stand and fight…

It is our way…


	49. Thanks, Extra, and Preview

My thanks to this fanfic goes to you reviewers and readers...

-

armoreddude, Death, KirkTimN, Woody, Woody3, StealthNight, Jean S, Woodz, Cbwscythe,

MasterAlucard, 0.o, AlexanderXaviorTorrin, Dragonmaster2000, Meat-Eater, goatfish, Nevarel,

Librarose, KawaiiNekoOfDoom, Preventor Squall, awbachellor, ziki, DemorNine, Yami-0-o,

Crimson Anubis, Omega Paladin, Arkv01, veed, host1800, demonslayer206, BloodyKitsune,

Buehler, Dreken, james, Kyrial, Rageki, dragoonknight1, The Hell I'm Telling U, Harpra,

Dra Gan the Dragoniodan King, Zero Melfice, Night Edge, someone, GreyWolf99,

Advent Griever, nexus master, Inspired Seeker and anyone else that Imayhave missed.

-

Now that the sentimental stuff is said (wipes a tear away), read on further for two little extra tidbits you will enjoy…

------------------------------

_Bonus Mission (A story extra basically. Not part of the real plot.)_

"Come on. What's the worse that can happen?"

"I hate it when you say that."

Bloodhand, Glaive and Havoc were in a desolate looking area with one of the sectors of Silent Line. Before them was a gigantic entry port that descended far down into the ground. Their mission was to investigate this area of Silent Line. The trio would have to drop into the port and investigate the area.

"Oh come on."

"No, he actually right." Elijah replied. "Whenever you say that, we get into trouble. Big trouble."

Koemai gave Havoc a fierce glare. "Shut up. So there were a few isolated incidents. You can't blame me for that. Besides, all we are doing is investigating an unexplored area, that all. It's not like they're asking us to fight IBIS again."

The younger Raven frowned. "Don't even mention that. I think that was the worse battle of my life."

Koemai threw his hand up in exclamation. "See. We went through Silent Line and back. As I said, what's the worse that can happen?"

Cain frowned at his friend, but gave no answer. The trio moved toward the port and jumped in at once. The fall was deep, but they would be able to use their boosters to soften their fall until they finally touched down to the floor. They found themselves in a massive open-spaced area, with energy circuitry all around them. But that wasn't what had their attention.

"What's that?" Elijah asked. The other two were looking at the distant object away from them, standing there, seeming to stare at them.

"Holy $(&!"

Shockingly, this came from Cain and at this; his two compatriots looked over at Glaive, wide-eyed.

"…Did he just…?" Elijah started.

"I think he did." Koemai finished. With a smirk, he spoke over to Cain. "Whoa, I didn't you had it in you, Cain." But his smirk faded away when he saw Glaive seeming to…step back?

"Huh, what's the problem?"

"That! Doesn't that look familiar to you guys?"

Elijah took a glance at the starting machine before them. "It looks like…hey! I think those are Seraphim parts. Someone's been biting off your style, Cain."

Again, there was no humor in Cain's voice. That was normal. There was a trace of fear in it. That was definitely _not_ normal.

"No. It's the other way around in this case."

Koemai's eyes widened at the statement and he turned to take a look at the machine. It was cloaked in crimson red, with a symbol on its shoulder that all Ravens knew and recognized.

"No way! That's…That's…!"

_**-Target verified! Commencing hostilities!-**_

* * *

And now a taste of things to come…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

_Some called it the Apocalypse. Others called it Judgment Day. While I don't believe it to be _

_any of __those things, I do believe that it was the day that changed everything. The world was _

_rendered to __near nothingness by an unknown force. Yet from the ashes of this, a new conflict _

_emerges and the __fate of the world will be once again be in the hands of those who call _

_themselves Ravens. In this __time, however, we are few in number and the resulting conflict _

_could render us to a handful or even __just one._

-

_If it comes down to it, I intend to be that one. The Last Raven…_

-

_My name is Elijah and I am the Hand of Justice…_

-

_The only one left after, how would he put it…._

-

_The Fall of Heaven…_

-

_**The Hands of God III: Heavenfall**_

-

_Coming soon…_


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